The Reishikaku
by donalgraeme
Summary: Not another Bloodline fic. Naruto runs away from Konoha at age 6, along with Itachi and a bloodline Kyuubi made for him. Watch as Naruto achieves power beyond imagining and realizes that he has a bigger role in this world than he could ever imagine.
1. Chapter 1

**I got inspiration for this out of nowhere. Hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto.**

* * *

Kyuubi was pissed. Very pissed. _You try to carry out your purpose is life, and then you're sealed inside a human. What's wrong with the world?_

But of course, Kyuubi knew what was wrong with the world. It was his job to make it right again. The Bijuu had been placed on this earth solely to deliver swift and fatal judgment to any who upset the balance of the world.

Of course, nearly all of them had gone mad with power, or had chosen to ignore there sacred charge. Kyuubi was probably the only Bijuu who actually tried to keep things in order.

Kyuubi howled, so loud that the walls of his newfound cage shook. He'd been doing just that when all of a sudden a bunch of Konoha shinobi had attacked him.

Just because he was the size of a mountain and had near unlimited power, it didn't mean he was hostile!

What was supposed to be a routine purge had turned into an all-out war against Konoha. Then, by some miracle of genius, the Yondaime, Minato Namikaze, had managed to seal him inside his newborn son, Naruto.

And now here he was, trapped with no way out. Kyuubi fumed for a while, trying several times to bust down the cage doors, before he calmed down.

_Not like this is the kid's fault. Hell, the whole village is probably gonna hate his guts._ Kyuubi sighed. The boy would be a pariah from day one. All because he was the Kyuubi's new jail keeper.

Kyuubi contemplated anyway that he could lighten the load for Naruto. He really was a very kind creature. His ancient mind scanned the possibilities and outcomes faster than you could remember that two plus two is four.

_My options are limited. I'm stuck in here. However, knowing what he's going to be should help. _Kyuubi had no doubt that Naruto would follow in his father's footsteps. Even now, Kyuubi could sense that the boy's chakra reserves were abnormally high.

_A bloodline should be appropriate. _Kyuubi closed his eyes and focused. In a surge of motion and light, Kyuubi was in his everyday human form. He only turned into a beast when he was doing work.

Kyuubi was wearing snow-white fox furs over black cargo pants and a bare chest, rippling with muscles. His skin was tan, with a reddish tinge. His face was angular, with blood-red eyes, whisker marks, and extended canines. His shaggy shoulder-length hair was the color of a high-grade ruby.

Kyuubi reached into his pockets. The pockets were really gateways to pocket universes. Unlimited storage space. Kyuubi reached around until he felt a large crystal. He pulled it out.

Creating bloodlines was really very easy. If you were a Bijuu. The crystals were really a solid form of pure chakra. Add a little blood, describe the attributes, and you had a bloodline in your hands.

Kyuubi slashed his palm with a clawed finger. The cut healed the instant the claw left the flesh, but the blood was still there. Kyuubi carefully rubbed it all over the bloodline crystal. It started to glow, turning into an amorphous lump of energy.

Kyuubi considered the possibilities. Nothing concerning the eyes. They had three of those already. He could go for big and powerful, but that really wasn't his style. Kyuubi, like the fox he was, preferred stealth and quick kills.

"Intangibility," Kyuubi said. The bloodline would adapt to the qualities that were listed, changing color to match the quality. The bloodline turned grey. "Levitation, super-speed."

The bloodline was now a mass of rainbow colors. All it needed now was a name, so it could use the context to organize itself. Kyuubi grinned as he enunciated clearly "Reishikaku." The light instantly turned into a see-through, eerie white.

Kyuubi grinned. When he and Naruto met face to face, he would have a good present to give him. The Ghost Assassin.

* * *

Six years later…

Naruto was hiding in an alley. Nobody was chasing him, but he had less chance of being seen if he kept to the shadows. Naruto settled into his hiding place. He would make a break for his shitty apartment just before sunset, when there were the fewest number of people in the streets.

Naruto had seen better days. He hadn't had food for a few days, since he had no money. Even if he did, he would probably be turned away at the door of any restaurant in town, along with a few injuries inflicted on his person. His tiny ribs were starting to show on his tan skin.

"Hey, you!" Naruto froze, like a rabbit trapped in a shaft of bright light. _Anyone but me, anyone but me._ But of course it was him.

"Hey, demon-scum! Your days have finally come to an end!" Naruto turned fearfully. There was a mob of around 200 armed with pitchforks, knifes, and torches. Naruto was too scared to cry.

Every single time they beat him, it got worse and worse. The pain more and more intense, the hatred more and more potent, and his own fear and sorrow more and more suffocating.

Naruto tried to run. Unfortunately, the alley was a dead-end. His luck was just that bad. Naruto closed his eyes as the mob ran at him, yelling curses and threats.

If he didn't see the glee in their faces, didn't see the pure animosity in their eyes, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

It was a whole new level of pain. Naruto's eyes were frozen shut in terror, so his orientation was thrown completely off. He didn't know up from down. When he could see the blows, at least he could anticipate the hurt. Now even that small luxury was gone.

Naruto felt a new kind of discomfort when the angry villagers lit him on fire. Naruto felt blisters pop and flesh burn as the fire ate away at him. It was a mind-numbing, obliterating force, and Naruto knew that this was the end.

Naruto silently said good-bye to the dark, cruel world in his head. Fearing that one of his deepest secrets would go unvoiced, Naruto forced himself to speak around the flames. "I HATE YOU! I HATE ALL OF YOU! I HATE EVERY SINGLE HEARTLESS DEMON IN THIS ENTIRE VILLAGE!"

Naruto felt his strength leave him, as if his last words had taken away the breath of life. Naruto felt like he was farther and farther away…

* * *

Naruto tried to move. Was this heaven? If it was, it stunk. Naruto felt wet and cold. Maybe he hadn't wound up in heaven. Maybe he had wound up in hell. Then again, hell was supposed to be hot.

Focusing all of his energy on the front of his head, Naruto opened his eyes. There wasn't much to see. Just a ceiling that went on forever. Finding himself slightly stronger, Naruto sat up.

He was in a large, dank chamber. To his left, a strange man clad in fox furs, who seemed to be in his twenties, was standing behind the bars of a ridiculously large cage. The gap between the bars was easily enough for the man to walk through.

"Hello there, Naruto. How do you feel?" Naruto shuddered. No one ever talked to him like that. As if he was… normal. The man noticed Naruto's discomfort. "I'm sorry that you've grown up without anyone showing you kindness. I hope you don't feel too strange receiving it for the first time."

Naruto nodded slowly. He'd keep his mouth shut until this man proved that he wasn't going to hurt Naruto. "So, are you wondering where you are?" Naruto only nodded. Kyuubi sighed. The boy was more alone than he had thought.

"Well, this is your mindscape. It's kind of that place at the back of your mind where you have no idea what's going on inside. Now you're here." Kyuubi held back the impulse to bite his tongue. He was terrible at socializing. Naruto decided that a small question was okay.

"Why am I here?" Kyuubi sighed, audibly. This was going to be a big shock on Naruto's system. "You're here because I'm busy rebuilding your body. It was really a mess when you passed out. It's taking all of my efforts to keep you alive."

Naruto was puzzled by this. Someone trying to _keep_ him alive? "Why?" Naruto asked in a cautious manner. Kyuubi decided that there was no way to beat around the bush. "I'm trying to keep you alive mostly because I care. But some small reason is that I die if you die."

Naruto raised his eyebrows. "Who are you, exactly?" Kyuubi chuckled, a dry laugh with no humor in it. "Maybe you'll recognize me like this." In a flash, Kyuubi's normal, albeit intimidating, human form disappeared, to be replaced with a giant fox with nine red tails.

Naruto jumped a full three feet in the air. He was just sucking air for a scream when the horrifying fox was replaced with the man. "You're the Kyuubi! That demon that attacked the village! But I thought you were dead!"

Kyuubi shook his dead. "No human can kill me. I'm simply too powerful. The Yondaime sealed me inside you." Naruto took a few deep breathes to calm down. His mind was racing as every concept he'd held dear was turned upside-down. "Why would the Yondaime choose me, of all people?" Kyuubi considered whether or not to lie. Truth would pay off better in the long run.

"Because you were his son. You, Naruto Uzumaki, are the son of Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure, and Kushina Uzumaki, a kunoichi from the former Whirlpool Country. Your mother died in child birth, and your dad died in order to seal me."

Naruto sat down, shocked. Part of him was numb, while another part was… euphoric. He had parents. Dead parents, but at least he knew he had them. "Why are you so nice to me? After all, if what you saw is true, than I is the one holding you back from the real world."

Kyuubi smiled. "I've consoled myself that it was my own fault. I was supposed to be doing my job, but I got annoyed by some Konoha shinobi who attacked me. And the rest is history." Naruto smiled back. Once you got past the monster, there was a caring person inside Kyuubi.

Kyuubi started digging in his pockets. "Would like a present?" he asked, still rummaging in his pockets. Naruto's head moved up and down faster than a woodpecker's beak. He had never gotten a present before. Kyuubi finally pulled out what seemed to be an orb of smoke from his pants.

"This is a bloodline. I made it myself. If you want it, just say the word, and then I can give it to you without the seal interfering." Naruto smiled. His own bloodline? Naruto had watched the grand wealth that the bloodline clans possessed. If he got his own, maybe people would bow down to him.

"Sure. Fire away!" Kyuubi grinned at Naruto's enthusiasm. Kyuubi expertly threw the Reishikaku at Naruto. If he hadn't had given his consent, the orb would have died the instant it left the cage. Instead, it hit Naruto straight in the heart.

Naruto expected some kind of impact from the sphere. But it passed right into him, right in the heart. Naruto felt a weird kind of tingling in his chest, which slowly spread to his whole body. When everything from his follicles to his toenails was tingling like crazy, it stopped.

Naruto looked down at his body. He gasped when he saw that it was see-through. Naruto tried to touch himself, but his hands passed through his chest as if he were made of air. Naruto also noticed that he was floating a few inches off the ground.

Kyuubi watched in amusement as Naruto placed many body parts inside other body parts, usually in some ridiculous way.

When Naruto had had his fun, he turned to his new friend. "What else can I do, Kyuubi-kun?" Kyuubi didn't miss the title. He was touched by how much Naruto already cared. He had never had a friend either.

"All in good time, Naruto-kun. But right now, may I have your permission to talk to you when you are conscious?" Naruto nodded like a woodpecker again. Kyuubi chuckled. Despite going through hell everyday, Naruto managed to be very upbeat and energetic when he wanted to be.

"Okay, now I'm done. Naruto, your body is fixed." The next thing Naruto knew, he was lying in the alley without one scratch on him. Naruto got up, displeased to see that his body was solid again. With practiced ease, Naruto ran to his apartment without anyone seeing him. Then again, it was easily midnight.

Naruto flicked the light switch, activating a flickering low-watt bulb on a forlorn piece of wiring. Aside from a dirty futon and a minifridge, there was nothing in the 8 x 10 space except a walk-in bathroom. Naruto heard Kyuubi's voice as if he were right next to him. _"Damn, Naruto-kun. This is your home?"_

Naruto said "Yeah," out loud. _"Speak with your mind. I'll hear you."_ Naruto nodded, and then quickly put on some new clothes to replace his charred ones. When he was done, he sat on the bed and talked to himself.

"_So, what now, now that I know you?"_ Kyuubi hummed as he wondered. _"Well, officially, you're dead, and being dead has possibilities."_

Naruto grinned maniacally. _"What kind of possibilities?" "Possibilities outside this village. We can just wander around the world, while I teach you how to use that bloodline. And other things."_

Naruto thought about it. He had made it clear that he hated the village. Maybe it was time to strike out to other places. _"Okay. Let's go,"_ Naruto thought. Carrying nothing more than a pair of extra socks in his pocket, Naruto left the apartment for the last time.

Naruto grinned when he thought over his crazy day. First he was almost killed, and then he met the Kyuubi, made friends with him, found out about his parents, and was now leaving the village on a whim.

There was only one sentry at the gates, and he was asleep. Naruto walked past him as if he weren't even there. _"Might want to walk off the beaten track. We don't want anyone to see you."_ Naruto nodded and then turned into the forest. He had been walking several minutes when he heard something. Something like crying, only ten times worse.

Naruto followed the sound until he came upon a young man, maybe 14 or 15. He had grey-ish hair, and was wearing a standard ANBU uniform without the mask. His head was in his hands, as his body was rocked by horrible sobs, yet no tears flowed. Naruto had an inkling of how the man felt. Crying was a way for your body to release emotion, but sometimes there was so much that the tear ducts got backed up.

Naruto walked up to the man, who was sitting on a fallen tree trunk. He sat down next to the man, who didn't even notice his presence. "Why are you crying?" Naruto asked, making the man jump out of his skin. Naruto saw that the man's face somewhat resembled a weasel. He had black eyes, bags under them, and a sharp, angular face.

"Who are you?" Itachi asked, for of course it was he. He was surprised that this youth had managed to sneak up on him undetected. The blond boy gave a wide grin.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I'm running away from the village. Everyone is so mean to me." Inside his head, Kyuubi was shocked. One friend and Naruto had gone from hardcore survivor to harmless child. He was talking the way a six-year old should.

Itachi understood. He had never really believed the rumors about the Kyuubi child. Surely no one would treat an innocent kid so badly. But now, Itachi wondered if some of the things he'd heard held more truth than he thought. Itachi tried to keep up a positive attitude. "My name is Itachi Uchiha. I'm running away too."

Naruto's eyes widened. He knew all about the Uchiha prodigy. He often heard of him in the gossip of people he was hiding from. "Why are you running away?" Inside, Kyuubi put his guard up. He could detect the smell of blood on Itachi's person.

Itachi felt the unparalleled sadness that he had been experiencing just a minute ago. Trying not to choke, he told his tale to this mistreated boy, who was an outcast, just like him. "I've just done a terrible thing. Really terrible." Naruto listened. There was something about Itachi that Naruto could connect with.

"The patriarch of the Uchiha clan is a man named Madara. He was supposed to have died years ago, but somehow he's still alive. He came to me and whispered into my ear. He told me how my clan was arrogant, pig-headed, nothing but old men who pranced around earning praise just because of their eyes. I heard him, and I believed him. You don't understand what he's like. It was as if he was hypnotizing me, and I was letting him."

"Anyway, I followed his orders to the letter. I killed my best friend, in order to achieve the Mangekyou Sharingan, the highest level of the Sharingan eye." To emphasize his point, Itachi activated his newfound eyes.

Naruto stared. He'd never seen the Sharingan before, let alone the Mangekyou Sharingan. It was beautiful, in a dangerous sort of way.

Deep inside Naruto, Kyuubi's hair was standing on end. It was exactly this kind of evil that had led Kyuubi to Konoha in the first place.

"Anyway, once I had my eyes, Madara gave the clan a week to see if they would improve. Of course they didn't." At these words, Itachi's eyes finally managed to leak.

Through his tears, Itachi continued with his story. "It was terrible! He made me kill every single person in the clan. Everyone! I saw myself doing it, but I couldn't stop myself. And then my little brother walked in right after I finished my parents." Naruto felt chills run up his spine. What a horrible crime he had been forced to commit!

"Madara had given me specific instructions for my brother, Sasuke. I hurt him, I threatened him, and then I forced him to watch everything I'd just done to our clan through these damn eyes!" Itachi held his palms over his eyes, which had already reverted to normal.

"And then I did the worst thing ever. I taunted him! I called him weak, made him think he was too inferior to stop me! And then I just left him, telling him about these eyes before I left, planting the seeds of madness in him! He's my own brother!"

Itachi took in a shuddering breath, and then broke out into true sobs. Even though the man was twice his size, Naruto held Itachi, helping him let it all out.

How long they were like this, Naruto didn't know, but eventually the cries of sorrow subsided. Naruto let Itachi go. After a few deep breathes, Itachi was his normal self.

"After that, I reported to Madara. He let me go, and then disappeared before I could kill him." Itachi waved his hands at the clearing. "And now here we are."

Naruto shook his head. "That's the saddest story I've ever heard." Itachi nodded, his eyes shut tight. "You need a friend." It wasn't a question. Itachi opened his eyes.

"I just got my first friend myself, and I've never been one before, but I'm sure that I can be your friend." Naruto grinned, a wide joyful grin that made whoever saw it feel that warm, fuzzy feeling.

Itachi experimentally mussed up Naruto's hair. Now that he was most likely an S-rank criminal, he would need someone to keep him company. Otherwise he'd probably turn into the person he was when Madara had hypnotized him.

"Okay, you can be my friend. And as your friend, I say that you need some food." A grin graced Itachi's face, the first in Kami knows how long.

He reached into his pocket and took out a box of pocky, strawberry flavor. He offered it to Naruto, who had it out of his hands faster than the eye could blink.

Itachi watched in amusement as Naruto scarfed down each stick faster than Itachi ever could have. And in case you don't know, Itachi's record in eating a box was less than 30 seconds.

In less time than you would think possible, every crumb was settling down in Naruto's empty stomach.

Itachi laughed at the satisfied look on Naruto's face. Again, his first in a long time. Naruto was meticulously checking around to see if there was a tiny crumb that he had missed. "You look like you enjoyed that," Itachi said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Naruto grinned, still in a pocky-induced haze. "Must. Have. More. Pocky." Itachi broke out in laughter at that, as they were the exact same words he'd said after having his first box.

Itachi stood up, stretching as his body adapted to not being on the tree anymore. Naruto tried to stand up, but failed miserably. When your body is crying out for food, and all you give it is about a pound of flavored sugar all at once, it goes into an insulin coma.

Naruto was snoring before he hit the ground. Itatchi chuckled. It would be fun to watch this blond boy grow up. Itachi hoped that he could help Naruto deal with his troubled past.

Stooping down, Itachi put Naruto on his back, piggy-back style, and walked away, looking for the entire world like a teenager helping his younger brother after a long day.

Itachi took off at a fast ninja's pace, aware that pretty soon ANBU and ROOT would be looking for him. He made for Kumo, not knowing what the future would bring.

* * *

Naruto woke up to the smell of baking bread. His stomach rumbled, rather loudly. Naruto opened his eyes and stood up. He was in a camp, small but functional, with Itachi standing over a fire, on top of which were rapidly browning buns.

Naruto smiled. It had not all been a dream. He really was away from the village full of Kyuubi-haters. Just to make sure that last night wasn't a working of his subconscious mind, Naruto yelled in his head _"Kyuubi-kun, are you awake?"_

His answer was a laugh that could warm the heart of the coldest ninja. Naruto didn't understand why Kyuubi was hated throughout the village. Then he remembered how he'd looked as a fox. _"I'm awake now." _

Naruto grinned. He was surrounded by friends, and there weren't any angry villagers around. He was perfectly content. Then his stomach rumbled again.

Itachi looked up, his eyes warm. "Naruto-kun, come over here. You look like you could use some fattening up."

Naruto was shocked at the title, but he came over anyway. It was possible that Itachi was displacing his feelings for Sasuke onto Naruto, but Naruto was just glad to have a friend, period.

Itachi made Naruto wait until the buns cooled, during which time a waterfall of drool came out Naruto's mouth, until he let Naruto dig in.

The buns tasted great, with butter already baked in. "Itachi-kun, where did you learn to cook. I thought all the Uchiha clan did was train and sit around." Naruto realized how hurtful his words were, and was just about to apologize when Itachi laughed.

"That is the impression we give off, I suppose. Anyway, to answer your question, ANBU have to take a cooking class, so that if we're undercover as a chef, people don't suspect us."

Naruto smiled. The few times he'd talked to people, they had misinterpreted everything he'd said the wrong way. With Itachi, even hurtful comments got twisted around into jokes.

The two of them ate a nice breakfast, occasionally telling jokes. It was awkward for the both of them, but the barriers between them were slowly thinning. Pretty soon, they would be even closer than brothers.

When they finished, Naruto took note of his surroundings. "Where are we, Itachi-kun?" "Somewhere near the borders of Kumo." Seeing Naruto's look of confusion, Itachi launched into a short history lesson.

"Kumo is the nation northeast of Konoha. It's notorious for being a breeding ground for corrupt power and betrayal. A couple years ago, they tried to steal the Byakugan under the pretenses of a treaty. Basically, it's dog eat dog, where only the closest of bonds matter."

Itachi smiled. "And so we're going there. I'm officially a criminal, but Konoha won't dare come after us once we're past that border. Plus, I hear that Kumogakure has some of the best food in the world. We can hide out there for a few years, easy."

Behind his smile, Itachi was worried. Even shinobi had been known to disappear if they wandered the streets of Kumogakure at night. How a six-year old would survive, Itachi had no idea.

Naruto grinned. "That's fine with me. I've got you to protect me, and even it you're not there, I still got Kyuubi and my bloodline." Naruto was grinning until he noticed the look on Itachi's face.

Itachi's jaw was investigating realty on the ground. Not only that, but every inch of his skin was covered in goose bumps. To top it off, he was still as a statue, and Naruto could see that he wasn't breathing.

Naruto rushed forward, and proceeded to shake Itachi until he wriggled like a worm. But he still didn't breathe. Naruto slapped Itachi full in the face, but that only bought partial results.

Naruto tried to think of any other way of saving people. He only had scraps of knowledge he'd learned through pure gossip, but he thought there was one way, involving a kiss. Naruto shuddered. Was it worth it?

Then Naruto saw Itachi start to turn blue. Naruto felt scared, as he realized that if Itachi died, he'd be all alone with no idea where he was. Swallowing his pride and humiliation, Naruto leaned forward his lips puckered.

Fortunately for out blond hero, the mere sight of a boy leaning in for a kiss was enough to shock Itachi out of his daze. He pushed Naruto away, shuddering in disgust. Naruto wasn't too pleased to be landing on his butt, but he was glad that Itachi was alive again.

"Sorry," Itachi said, rubbing his cheek as the pain of the slap finally made its way through. "It's just what you said. You know about the Kyuubi? And you have a bloodline?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "That's right; I never really explained why I left." Naruto scratched his head as he tried to put things in order in his head. Meanwhile, Itachi waited with bated breath.

"I got hurt by a mob. Normally that would be everyday stuff, but this time they had torches. They lit me on fire, and I seriously thought that I was going to die."

Itachi shuddered. How could people be so heartless? Itachi knew that he was already depending on Naruto in an obsessive, need-you-to-stay-sane sort of way. But still, he didn't want his new companion to be weighted down by memories of torture.

"Anyway, I woke up in my… well; Kyuubi-kun called it my mindscape. Anyway, Kyuubi told me the truth about my parents, what happened to him, and basically we became friends real fast."

Itachi shuddered. Kyuubi didn't have any personal hatred of the Kyuubi, but he did hate all the damage it had done to the village. To have it described as nice was a little too much to chew.

"After that, he offered me a bloodline, if I wanted it. I thought it would be cool to have a bloodline of my own, so I said yes. He threw this weird ball at me, and then I went see-through. I could pass my arms through my own body!" Naruto chuckled at the memory of his fun.

"Then Kyuubi-kun fixed my body, and then he suggested that we leave the village. I hate that place, so I agreed. Then I met you." Naruto grinned again, as the reality truly sank in.

When Itachi had sufficiently absorbed this new information, he asked the obvious questions. "Isn't it scary, being a giant fox and all?" Naruto looked offended.

"First off, he's a he, not an it. Secondly, he's only a fox when he wants to be. When I was with him, he looked like a man wearing furs."

Itachi nodded. He'd always wondered how the Kyuubi had always appeared out of nowhere when it attacked. "What is the name of your bloodline, and what does it do?"

Naruto looked confused, and then got a blank look on his face. When his expression returned, Naruto spoke. "Kyuubi calls it the Reishikaku. He said that when it's active, I'm… intangible, I can levitate, and I'm super fast."

Itachi's eyebrows went up. "Did you just communicate with the Kyuubi?" Naruto nodded. "Apparently, Kyuubi can do all the things he could do with his old body and more. He just needs my permission."

Itachi nodded at this. The Yondaime's seal was based strongly on the willpower of the bearer. If the bearer willed it, the seal adjusted.

"Well, that's all I need to know for now. Naruto-kun, do you have any ninja training at all?" Naruto looked surprised by the question, but shook his head.

Itachi grinned in a way that made Naruto scared for some inexplicable reason. "The instant we are over the border, you are officially under the training regime I devised myself. It's sadistic, unforgiving, and you'll probably beg for death rather than go through one more second after the first hour."

Naruto gulped, goose bumps covering every inch of his skin. This was what he got by offering to be an ANBU's friend, and an Uchiha ANBU at that. "But, if you survive, you will easily be the most powerful being the world has ever seen."

Naruto revised his thinking at that. No pain, no gain. And Ultimate Power seemed like something worth going through the pain to get. Itachi stared Naruto straight in the eyes, seeing the resolve there.

"Do you accept my training, Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki?" Naruto nodded, liking the way his name sounded. "Then follow me."

Without another word, Itachi was sprinting into the woods. Belatedly, Naruto took off after him as fast as his short legs could carry him. Itachi was already so far ahead that he was nothing more than a rapidly diminishing blur.

"_Naruto-kun, do I have your permission to loan you some of my chakra?" _Kyuubi had no idea of how the continent was truly shaped. He'd just followed his six sense of tracking evil when he was in the real world. If Itachi got away, Kyuubi had no idea how he would get Naruto anywhere.

Naruto, who was thinking along the same lines as Kyuubi, screamed in his head _"Yes!" _Naruto suddenly felt _something_ rush through his entire body. It felt like the bloodline tingling, only this time it hurt.

But the instant Naruto felt the tingling, he was suddenly flying through the trees. His speed was such that Naruto felt like he could outrun lightning. In less than a second, Naruto had caught up with Itachi.

Naruto was pleased to discover that he could control his speed, though it chakra that Kyuubi had given him still hurt. "Hey, Itachi-kun!" Naruto yelled, right next to the young ANBU.

Itachi almost fainted when he turned to see the boy the voice belonged too. Naruto was completely translucent, with a reddish tinge. Not only that, but his legs weren't even moving. He hung in the air as if he were riding the world's fastest gust of wind.

But Itachi quickly recovered. He knew that this must be Naruto's bloodline, the Reishikaku. The Kyuubi must have given Naruto some chakra in order to activate it.

Itachi grinned when he came to terms with what was happening. "Try to keep up," was all he said, before he released the weight seals all over his body, shooting off like a rocket right in front of Naruto.

Naruto laughed at the new game. Ignoring the consequential increase in discomfort, Naruto increased his speed, glad that he didn't even have to move his legs. Thank Kami for giant foxes that give you bloodlines out of the kindness of their hearts.

To the ROOT team tracking Itachi, the increase in speed was like a shot of pure fear. They turned back on themselves, racing off towards Konoha to inform their master of what they'd just learned: the Kyuubi brat was not dead, but traveling with Itachi Uchiha.

* * *

Normally, it would have taken Naruto and Itachi at least a day to reach the border. Racing each other, they managed it in 2 hours.

Naruto sighed with relief when Itachi finally stopped. Sure, it was fun to use the Reishikaku, but using Kyuubi-kun's chakra really hurt.

Kyuubi had warned Naruto during the race that extended use of his chakra could significantly shorten Naruto's life through cell damage.

Itachi was sweating buckets as he tried to calm his racing heart. Never, in his whole life, had he drawn out all the stops and ran at full speed.

He'd been wearing seals that were just as effective as training weights since the day of his birth. He had had the strength of an average Chuunin by the time he was a year old.

But Itachi grinned when he stretched to cool down. He felt as light as a feather after a lifetime of carrying around ten times his weight.

Itachi reluctantly reactivated the seals so that the were the way they were before. Much as he enjoyed the freedom, he'd be simply too fast without the seals on.

Itachi turned to Naruto, who was brushing dead skin off by the limb. Using the Kyuubi's chakra must have been seriously painful. Itachi felt guilty when he realized that it had all been because of a childish impulse to race ahead of Naruto in order to scare him.

"Okay, just for the record, we'll call that a tie. I'm sorry about that, Naruto-kun. I shouldn't have forced you to use the Kyuubi's chakra."

Naruto waved off the concern. "It's nothing, really." Even as he said it, Naruto winced from the raw skin under his clothes rubbing against the coarse cloth.

"Even so, sorry. Now, let's eat." Itachi made a big meal, partly to make it up to Naruto, and partly because Itachi himself was starving. The meal consisted of miso soup, fried rice, and a special vegetable that Naruto didn't know the name of.

The meal was easily the best he'd ever had. Then Naruto remembered the time that the Sandaime Hokage had taken him out for ramen, to some place called Ichiraku's.

Naruto decided to put this meal in the second-best slot. Naruto felt a tiny twinge of guilt. He liked the Sandaime. The grandfatherly old man had been nothing but nice to Naruto.

Then Naruto remembered all the pain he'd suffered at the villagers' hands. The memories already felt distant, as if they were from another life. Still, the Sandaime's kindness paled next to his subjects' hatred.

When Itachi had finished cleaning up, he stood in front of Naruto, a sadistic grin on his face. Naruto felt a chill run up his spine, and even Kyuubi's hair stood on end. At times, humans could be scarier than even himself.

"I call this training program the 'Sebone-Buruda' or 'spine builder.' I devised it to train a generation of ninja more powerful than the ANBU. But, of course, like all true genius, it was scorned and rejected."

The grin widened, and Naruto's goose bumps grew goose bumps. "But, luckily, we're no longer part of Konoha. Therefore, we don't have to follow the rules."

Itachi pulled out a scroll with the kanji for "Step 1" on it. "The Sebone-Buruda is a three step process. Step 1, pure physical exercise, chakra control exercises, and chakra-building exercises. Step 2, weapons, strategy, and taijutsu. And Step 3, every Jutsu known to Kami and man, specially tailored around the trainee's personal style, elemental affinity, and their bloodline, if they have one."

Itachi tossed the scroll to Naruto. "I assume you know how to read." Naruto nodded. The orphanage he'd lived in until he was four had not completely neglected him.

One kind assistant had taught Naruto how to read decently, though he had trouble with some of the more complex kanji.

"Read that scroll. It contains the work-out routine you will do everyday, based on what level you're at. You start with level one, then move on to Step 2 when you reach level five, which you do everyday until you decide you're too old to do it everyday."

Naruto opened the scroll. His heart went down to his shoes. The routine would make a bodybuilder quake with fear.

The schedule mapped out the whole day, starting at 5:00 a.m. and ending at 7:00 p.m. It started out with a solid five hours of intense work-outs that used as many muscles as possible at once.

Then Naruto would meditate until lunch, while balancing a large rock on his head, trying to feel the flow of chakra within him.

Afterwards, he would combine the two, keeping balance on a log while his instructor, Itachi, hurled projectiles at him.

To wrap up the day, he would do laps and sprints. The schedule even mapped out meals, full of ingredients that Naruto had never even heard of.

Just when Naruto thought it couldn't get worse, he saw a section near the bottom.

"Weight seal calibration?" Naruto asked, his young mouth stumbling over the big words. Itachi did that grin again, and then did some fast hand seals.

"**Ninja Art: Weight Seal Placement."** Itachi jabbed Naruto in the chest. Lines of chakra resembling chains wrapped themselves around Naruto, burning into his skin. When they cleared, Naruto didn't have a scratch on him.

Naruto was just about to question Itachi when he did a different set of hand seals. **"Ninja Art: Weight Seal Activation." **Naruto was instantly on the ground.

Naruto felt like he was a pancake being crushed by a giant spatula. "The weight seals are set for a hundred pounds, a nice start," Itachi explained, suppressing a chuckle.

Naruto dug deep, trying to draw every drop of strength he had to the front of his mind. With a backbreaking effort, Naruto stood up. It wasn't that different from standing normally. If your definition of normal is while carrying a giant boulder on your back.

"Come on, I'll give you a few days to get used to those seals. That'll also give us time to reach Kumogakure. But enjoy it while it lasts, because when we reach the village, the real work begins."

Naruto gulped. His legs ached already from supporting his new weight. Walking, let alone the crazy routine in that scroll, was unthinkable at the moment.

Itachi turned, walking at a brisk pace. Grinding his teeth at the effort, Naruto followed. After an hour, Naruto had aches all over, and a pain in both knees.

By the time Itachi decided to camp for the night, even breathing was a sharp, stabbing pain in Naruto's overworked muscles.

Naruto could barely lift a finger without crying out in pain. He glared at Itachi, who ignored Naruto's discomfort. "You know, for someone who calls himself a friend, you're pretty cruel."

Itachi shrugged. "I warned you, and you accepted anyway. If it helps, try to imagine what it'll be like once you finish the training." With that, Itachi turned back to his rice.

Afterwards, Naruto was unaware of the blinding pain as he cleaned his dishes and went to bed. His head was too full of fantasies to make room for pain.

In Naruto's imagination, he was a tall, handsome man, wearing clothes that were both expensive and practical. His enemies trembled at the mere sight of him, and with a blink, he could slaughter a whole army, level mountains, and make the sky tremble.

At some point, the fantasies turned to dreams. Naruto really didn't notice until they ended when he was rather rudely awoken by Itachi. "Get up, breakfast is in a minute."

Naruto felt, if possible, even worse then he had yesterday. Every square inch of his body was either painfully sore or just plain painful.

Grunting with discomfort, Naruto got up and walked outside. He was surprised that his clothes were still pristine, but then again, they weren't going through the same treatment as Naruto himself.

Naruto stared at the bowl Itachi handed him. It appeared to be a gunk made out of crushed leaves and seeds. Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but then Itachi uttered "Complain even once, and I'll double the weight on those seals."

Paling in fear, Naruto ate the mush. It was extremely bitter, without even a hint of any other flavor. Just pure, tongue-stinging, bitterness. Naruto almost complained. Almost.

"_Trust me, Naruto-kun; it'll pay off in the end. I can already feel your muscles building." _Naruto ignored Kyuubi's pep talk. Who cared about the end result? Didn't anyone give a hoot about his pain?

Naruto and Itachi walked again, stopping only for a ten minute lunch break, which for Naruto was something that looked like a carrot, but tasted like spinach mixed with oregano.

Just when Naruto had started to consider suicide to escape his pain, he spotted the walls of Kumogakure. Naruto grinned. Finally, no more walking.

When Naruto and Itachi reached the gate, Itachi did all the talking, while Naruto, following Itachi's instructions, tried to look innocent.

Itachi had hidden his headband and had put his armor in a storage scroll, leaving him in a fishnet shirt and black cargo pants. Naruto's only clothes were a white, threadbare shirt with khaki shorts.

When the guards asked Itachi for his papers, he discretely did a few hand seals behind his back. When he spoke again, Naruto was amazed. Itachi's voice sounded like a chorus all on its own.

"You've already seen our papers. Remember? We're two members of this village who left to travel abroad. We're coming back after a long time away from home." The guards were like putty in Itachi's hands.

"Of course," they said, in a dreamy whisper. "Welcome back." Smiling, Itachi strode into the village like he owned it. Naruto followed slowly until they were out of earshot, and then exploded with questions.

"How did you do that, Itachi-kun? Why was your voice like that? Why did those guards agree? Why—" Itachi clamped his hand over Naruto's mouth.

When Naruto's lips stopped moving, Itachi spoke. "It's called the Memory Adjustment Jutsu. It lets me rewrite a person's short term memory."

Naruto was about to yell how cool that was, when Itachi cut him off. "Before you say anything, it has several drawbacks."

"For starters, I have to be fairly close to the person. Second, the rewrite has to be believable, or the brain rejects it. And finally, if I'm not careful, I could wind up erasing the person's entire memory."

Naruto shut his mouth. Still, even with those limitations, the Jutsu sounded pretty cool.

Itachi scanned the street for a restaurant or an inn, preferably both in one. He would prefer to buy a house, but that would bring too much attention to the both of them. He hit gold when they came across a ramen place with a second floor with rooms for rent.

"Naruto, while we're in there, let me do all the talking. These people hold no qualms against killing children." Naruto nodded did his woodpecker nod, which made Itachi laugh.

Together, they strode into Zatochi's, which was thriving with loud customers. Boisterous laughs mixed with colorful language, giving the mixed message of 'Welcome' and 'Danger, stay away.'

Threading his way through the crowd like the weasel he was, Itachi secured a small table in the corner, Naruto rushing along right behind him.

Naruto looked at the weak chair dubiously, but sat in it. He was amazed that it didn't even creak. "Itachi-kun, how come this chair is still standing?"

Itachi grinned, with only a hint of sadistic glee. "The seal only affects you, not the surrounding matter. To that chair, you're a thin six-year old."

Naruto's head turned when he saw a young girl come their way, holding a notepad and pen. She was easily as young as Naruto, but she was swearing like a sailor at the people who cut her off, who were few, as everyone gave her a wide berth.

When she reached their table, she put on a sugar-coated smile and asked, in an oddly sweat voice, "Hello, there! Welcome to Zatochi's, where ramen is the blood in our veins! What can I get you?"

"I'll have whatever your specialty is, and a bottle of aged sake. My brother here will have the miso ramen and a glass of water." The girl switched her gaze from Itachi to Naruto and back again.

But she ignored the blindingly obvious differences between them and put down their order. She then made her way to the kitchen, her swearing, if possible, even more obscene.

Naruto stared at Itachi. Why on earth had he said they were brothers? Naruto looked as much like Itachi as a lizard looks like a chimpanzee.

Faster than you would think possible, the girl was back, expertly balancing their order on a bamboo mat. She handed them their dishes and drinks, along with two pairs of chopsticks, and left.

The instant the hot noodles hit his tongue, Naruto was in heaven. The noodles were easily better than the ones at Ichiraku's (insert angry curse at bashing the most sacred restaurant in the Narutoverse.)

Naruto downed his bowl as fast as his weighted limbs could carry the noodles. Itachi savored his more, chewing with care before swallowing.

After downing his sake in one go, Itachi waved a hand in the air. As if from thin air, the girl appeared at their table.

"Thank you for eating at Zatochi's! How was your ramen?" Itachi gave a small grin. "It was delicious, surprisingly so." The girl grinned.

"Like my uncle always says, 'just because we're a village full of cutthroats, it doesn't mean we should be ill-fed.' He owns this place."

Itachi nodded. "Is there anything else I can get you?" "Yes, as a matter of fact there is. We're interested in renting a room."

The girl's grin turned into a frown fast. "I should warn you, my uncle is a notorious cheater. He charges nearly double what the rent is on paper through hidden fees."

Itachi shrugged. "Money is no object. We just want a place to live." The girl thought about it. "Okay, I'll ask my uncle." She disappeared, carrying their dishes back to the kitchen.

Naruto glanced around to make sure no one was listening, and then whispered at Itachi "Are you crazy? We're runaways. How on earth are we supposed to afford a few years in a place that charges like that?"

Silently, Itachi took out a storage scroll labeled 'money' from his pockets. He opened it, and put chakra into the first of many, identical seals.

There was a puff of smoke, and then a bundle of thousand-ryo notes appeared on the table. Naruto's eyes bulged nearly out of their sockets.

"Believe me; we're fine on the financial front. ANBU get paid an extra 50 percent on missions, and my regulars are B- and A-rank missions."

Naruto almost fainted when he heard the percentage. Naruto didn't know the exact price for ninja missions, but he knew that an A-rank mission alone could pay for food for a month.

The girl came back, a check in hand, along with what seemed to be a contract. She placed them on the table, offering Itachi a pen.

"He said yes. Room and board is 2000 ryo a month." Itachi nodded, signing a false name and handing over three thousand-ryo notes.

The girl took the money, and directed them to some stairs near the back. She led them up into a hallway with three or four doors. She stopped at the one at the end.

"Each room has its own bathroom. There are futons and blankets for the both of you." With that, she handed Itachi the key and left to go back to the restaurant below.

Itachi opened the door, Naruto closing the door behind them. The place was cozy, just large enough not to be called stuffy.

Itachi put his things next to his futon, and then went into the bathroom. Naruto heard the sounds of showering coming from the door.

Naruto settled into his new bed. It wasn't dirty or had loose springs like the one Naruto had in Konoha, but then again, you got what you paid for.

Naruto was amazed at how fast he was already responding to the weights. If he didn't think about it, he didn't even notice.

"_That's a good sign. You'll the person you were in your dreams in no time." _Naruto smiled. His dream self had implanted itself firmly in his mind.

When Itachi came out, a towel wrapped around his waist, Naruto asked a question. "Hey, Itachi-kun. How long does that Sebone-Buruda thing of yours take?"

Itachi thought about it for a minute, running his hands through his wet hair. "I originally built it to last 15 years, but I have a feeling that you will finish it much earlier."

Naruto gulped. Fifteen years of doing nothing but train? Naruto wouldn't have it. While Itachi settled himself to sleep, Naruto talked to Kyuubi.

"_Isn't there someway to fast-track this, Kyuubi-kun? I don't want to wait until I'm 21 to be able to kick some butt."_

Kyuubi contemplated it. While he did, Naruto took his first shower ever. Before this, he'd just used a sponge and a bucket, to save what little money he could find.

Naruto sighed with relief as he felt years of dirt fall of his skin. The hot water also helped his muscles relax, banishing the crippling soreness.

When Naruto finished drying his hair and himself, he waked right to his bed, and snuggled under the covers, not caring that he was mooning Itachi. A little revenge at the weights.

When Naruto was about to fall asleep, Kyuubi said _"Come back here." _Naruto did no more than nod, and appeared in his mindscape.

Kyuubi didn't even bat an eye at Naruto's nudity. He was from an entirely different species, and he only wore _his_ clothes to blend in more. Also because of his handy pockets.

"I've thought of a way to, as you said, fast-track you're training." Naruto listened with rapt attention.

"With your permission, I'm going to start to combine our chakra stores. Not only will you get a power jump, but then my chakra won't hurt."

Naruto considered it. Even slowly, getting the Kyuubi's chakra stores would greatly increase his power. Plus, Naruto remembered all too well the burning tingle of Kyuubi's chakra.

"Okay, you have my permission." Kyuubi grinned. "Since your chakra is affected by a bloodline I made, this should go faster than if you had just normal chakra."

With that, Kyuubi settled down into the lotus position. Naruto watched as fiery bands of red chakra extended from Kyuubi's body.

The tendrils disappeared after they traveled a certain distance from Kyuubi, but Naruto felt a minor burning in the pit of his stomach.

But with the burning came a sense of power. It was small, but it was more than Naruto had before.

"Sleep, Naruto. This is going to take a year in all. You probably don't want to wait here all that time."

Naruto nodded, slipping into unconsciousness. He was in the middle of a wonderful dream where his country was declared the most powerful in the land when Itachi kicked him in the side.

Naruto groaned, and sat up, looking up at Itachi. The man's face was as cold and unforgiving as ice as he regarded Naruto.

"Put these clothes on," was all he said, pointing to a fishnet shirt and black cargo pants, exactly like his own. Also included was a pair of red boxers.

Naruto put on the clothes, which were a little big on him, but still fit reasonably well. "Follow me," Itachi said, striding out of the room.

Naruto followed Itachi through the empty streets of Kumogakure, the sun not present except for a slight lightening of the eastern clouds.

Naruto followed Itachi deep into the forest, until they came to a clearing that was unadorned except for a log in the middle, standing straight up.

Itachi took out the 'Step 1' scroll, and opened to the level 1 routine. "Alright, Naruto, give me 100 push-ups."

The next five hours of Naruto's existence where a blur of blood, sweat, and sadistic grins. The small inkling of power from Kyuubi helped a little, but not much.

When Itachi yelled "Stop," Naruto sank to the ground, a mass of quivering, sweating flesh. Naruto could physically feel his muscles growing, but he didn't care. There was so much pain. Naruto felt as if his lungs were literally about to explode.

Itachi pulled a large, spherical rock from his pocket. He led Naruto to the shade of a tree, and placed it on his head once Naruto obediently, if grudgingly, got into the lotus position.

"For the next three hours, I just want you to focus on keeping that rock on your head. Do nothing but keep your focus." With that, Itachi went off to gather ingredients for lunch.

Naruto sighed, but followed Itachi's directions. Naruto did nothing but concentrate on the balance of his body and the rock on his head.

After an hour, Naruto felt the tingling he'd come to recognize as chakra. He concentrated on it, letting it grow.

Itachi watched in amazement not three feet away. Naruto had already summoned chakra. And it wasn't normal chakra.

Itachi watched as Naruto was enveloped in a white, fluid chakra, resembling smoke. It rolled off of him, turning Naruto translucent and raising him a few inches off the ground.

Itachi was shocked to see the rock turn translucent too. _Mental note,_ Itachi thought. _The Reishikaku affects anything touching the user._

When the chakra didn't die down after a while, Itachi cleared his throat. Naruto fell on his butt as his bloodline disappeared.

Itachi pointed at the pot boiling near the center of the clearing. "Go eat," was all Itachi said. He didn't see the point in giving away unnecessary information.

Naruto, grumbling under his breath, went to eat the ghastly meal that Itachi had devised. He hadn't had breakfast, and he wasn't appreciative that lunch was nothing but some herby tea.

"Itachi-kun," Naruto started, grimacing over the tea. Said weasel looked up. "What's with all the plants in my food? They taste horrible!"

Naruto feared for a second that Itachi would carry through with his threat and double the weight on the seals. But Itachi calmly explained to Naruto, without even a flicker of a hand seal.

"Well, Naruto, those herbs in your food are of a special genus of vegetable. They have been proven to bolster chakra reserves, and so, naturally, they're in the Sebone-Buruda."

Naruto nodded, and took another swig of dirt. When Itachi put it that way, the herbs just became another step to his dream self.

After swallowing every drop, Itachi directed him to the log in the center of the clearing. With Itachi's help, Naruto stood on the top.

"The core of this exercise is to promote focus and flexibility. You must stay on that log while I throw any and all weapons I choose. For level 1, it's just blunt kunai knifes. But that's still a challenge to a beginner."

With that, Itachi did a great, fluid dance of destruction. He threw a constant hail of kunai knifes at Naruto, who did a miserable job at avoiding them.

Naruto needed every drop of concentration he had to just stop the log from toppling beneath him. He had none left to try and dodge the blunt kunai that caused bruises the moment they hit.

After two, long hours of this torture, during which time Naruto got a _slightly_ better balance on the log, Itachi finally stopped his bombardment.

"Out of 250 kunai, you dodged three. Pitiful." Naruto sighed, just happy that it was over. "Come down from there," Itachi said.

The moment Naruto touched the ground, Itachi went into a set of hand seals that instantly put Naruto on edge.

"**Ninja Art: Weight Seal Increase." **Naruto was kissing dirt before he could do so much as blink.

"I've only added another fifty pounds, but I guess with your exhaustion level, that's quite a bit too much." Itachi helped Naruto up, dusting him off.

Naruto stared at Itachi. "Do you have a split personality or something?" Itachi grinned, standing up to his full height.

"No, but my kind side has been known to be a bit random in its showing." Naruto didn't understand the complex language, but decided that it didn't really matter.

Itachi started to walk back towards Kumogakure. Naruto followed him eagerly, hoping that out of the goodness of his heart, Itachi had decided to end the day early.

But Naruto's hopes were crushed when Itachi stopped a few feet from the walls and turned to Naruto, with _that_ grin on his face.

"You will run around this entire village, as fast as you can manage, for the next three hours. We will not move to level 2 until you can do a hundred laps in that time."

A little geography lesson. Kumogakure is one of the larger ninja villages, almost a mile and a half in diameter. Naruto paled as he thought of all that running in his head.

Naruto was just about to whine like the child he was when he realized something. Whining doesn't make things go away. With Itachi, it made them worse.

So, even though Naruto would have gladly have a kunai shoved through his brain rather than go on one more second, Naruto started jogging.

Even though the terrain was pretty flat, it was still hell on earth for Naruto. He was ready to drop after the first lap.

But, demonstrating the Will of Fire that had been passed down to him from his father, Naruto kept on going.

At every single moment of his agony, Naruto was ready to quit. But he didn't. He forced himself to run lap after lap until Itachi signaled at him to stop.

Naruto felt like a handicapped ant forced to carry an elephant. Naruto felt like he was literally about to die.

"Come on, Naruto, we're nearly done." Itachi patted Naruto on the back, which was a bad idea as it caused Naruto to fall flat on his face.

Itachi was about to help him up, when Naruto, crying out in pain, picked himself up. Itachi stared at Naruto. _This boy has a will stronger than steel._

Itachi waited until he was sure that Naruto wasn't about to fall again. "You did a good job. You did a good 47 laps. Now, I want you to sprint to that rock over there and back to me. Keep going until you can do it in less than 30 seconds."

Naruto stared at the rock, a good 100 yards away. Naruto knew he was pushing the boundaries of his physical limits. He could die!

Then Kyuubi started chanting in his head _"No pain, no gain, and you will always be the same."_

He repeated it over and over again, until it was stuck in Naruto's head like an annoying tune that wouldn't go away.

Naruto remembered who he was just a week ago. A helpless, vulnerable boy, who did nothing to fight his fate.

Surprising Itachi and himself, Naruto took off at a full sprint to the rock. Naruto felt his muscles tearing, could feel numerous blisters popping all over his body, leaking blood, but he didn't care.

Because Naruto was done with being weak. If he had to kill himself to become strong, so be it. He would _never_ be helpless ever again.

In just under thirty seconds, Naruto made it back to Itachi. Itachi was about to tell Naruto he could stop when the blond turned around and did it again. And again. And again.

Naruto felt the burning as Kyuubi tried to heal him, but he ignored like he ignored the billion messages from his body and mind begging him to stop.

Naruto had put his soul into the sprint, and Naruto's soul was unbreakable.

Itachi could do nothing but stare as Naruto finished the sprint in faster and faster times, until he managed it in fifteen seconds.

There, his brain forcefully pulled the off switch. Naruto collapsed, his body going into a desperately needed sleep.

Itachi stared. Never, in his wildest dreams, had he imagined that anyone could possess such determination. Naruto, on his first day of the Sebone-Buruda, had managed a level 3 time on the sprint.

Itachi just shook his head in disbelief. Naruto was truly Minato's son.

Itachi scooped Naruto up, and silently took him back to Zatochi's. Ignoring the chaos of the restaurant, Itachi took Naruto up to their room.

Itachi ordered the largest ramen bowl the place had, then slowly fed it to Naruto, who was just conscious enough to chew and swallow.

From that day forward, Naruto was a changed man. Every single day, he pushed himself beyond the breaking point, giving himself over to the Sebone-Buruda.

And every single day, Itachi would carry the semi-conscious Naruto to their room, and silently feed him a dinner large enough for 3 starving men.

Naruto developed a kind of sixth sense, the ability to completely ignore pain that would put any rational person into a coma.

He did nothing but train, not even sparing time to talk to Itachi, who was silent most of the time anyway.

Because in Naruto's mind, there was only one option. Either become someone that would never be helpless, or die.

* * *

Itachi had originally estimated that Step 1 of the Sebone-Buruda would take ten years, as each level was ten times worse than the last. Even Itachi himself would have probably taken a year and a half to master level 1.

But Naruto had managed to achieve and maintain level 5 in just over three years.

No one in Konoha, even if they had a photographic memory and the keenest eyes in the world, would be able to recognize Naruto now.

His beautiful blond hair had taken on an animalistic quality, with bright flashes of white thrown into the mass, no doubt due to the enormity of Naruto's chakra.

His eyes, while still caring, were almost too scary to look at, because they had a hard, ice like quality that would probably freeze hell over twice if fully unleashed.

The inhuman work-outs, plus Kyuubi's own influence, had pushed Naruto into early puberty. He was already above five feet, and growing more every month.

But the thing most changed was the body. At first glance at Naruto's muscles, you would say that he was reasonably well-muscled for a nine-year old. His biceps were noticeable, and he had a flat stomach with just the hint of a six-pack.

But if you felt them, you would be shocked, because they were as hard as steel, having been compacted to the point that one square inch yielded the same level of strength as a bodybuilder's entire arm.

Itachi shivered in amazement. If this was Naruto after only Step 1, the Naruto after the Sebone-Buruda was completed would probably be more powerful than the Kyuubi.

Naruto grinned, a warm grin that dispelled all of Itachi's anxiety. Though probably the most physically powerful person on the planet, Naruto was still the kindest person you'd ever meet.

"Itachi, are we starting with Step 2 today?" Somewhere in the middle of level 3 of Step 1, Naruto had brought his emotions back to the surface. He was now as talkative as any other boy his age.

Naruto was gleefully aware of his muscles. The premature rush of testosterone to Naruto's system had awakened his need to impress the opposite sex.

"_Keep it to yourself, Naruto-kun. I never had to go through adolescence, and I don't want to start now!"_

Naruto grinned again. Kyuubi had long ago given every drop of power he had to Naruto. He was now nothing more than a voice in Naruto's head, which was just fine with him. He'd been hoping to retire anyway.

"_Duly noted. Suppress hormones in order to keep inconsequential voice in head happy. Check." _Naruto had started to show a real talent for sarcasm.

He was brought back to the real world by Itachi's words. "No, Naruto, not until you finish a little test of mine."

Naruto felt a pit of fear grow in his stomach. Itachi's tests usually involved frightening things.

"I want you to run through the whole level 5 workout. I'll be timing you. It your time meets my standards, we will proceed to Step 2."

Naruto paled. Even though he had power enough to make any Kage in the world jealous, doing level 5 at speed would be akin to being dipped in a volcano.

"Go!" Naruto took off, going through the routine that he had only just mastered.

And so, aware of every second that ticked by, Naruto did 1000 handstand push-ups, 1000 one-legged squats, alternating between each foot, and several other exercises.

When he had finished, Naruto went into the shade of a tree and balanced boulders in numerous crook in his body, leaving him standing on one leg.

Doing this, while trying not to fall painfully, Naruto tried to summon every drop of chakra he had.

Had not Itachi put chakra-proof barriers and camouflage genjutsu around the clearing, Naruto's chakra surge would have alerted every chakra-sensitive person on the continent.

Flaring out from him, a near solid mass of smoke-like chakra formed into a nine-tailed fox. Naruto's chakra, if allowed to roam freely, always formed into the beast that had created it.

When Itachi, so used to the phenomenon he didn't even blink, nodded, Naruto withdrew his chakra and dropped the boulders.

Naruto then, with practiced skill, climbed onto the log in the clearing, now scarred from the years of its use.

Itachi grinned. This was his favorite part of the day. Withdrawing every weapons scroll he had, some containing objects that had been deemed too destructive for Konoha.

Itachi, with a fluidity that would make any dancer turn green with envy, then proceeded to throw every single thing he had at Naruto, almost as fast as he summoned them.

Naruto, trying to watch every direction at once, dodged every single one. Bombs, chains, spiked whips, kunai, swords, giant shurikan, and any other weapon you could think of flew towards Naruto.

When all of Itachi's scrolls were spent, and Itachi had made sure that Naruto had dodged everything, Naruto went to the walls of Kumogakure, and tried to do the crazy 1000 laps as fast as possible.

Most of the time, Naruto cheated and used the Reishikaku on his laps. But he knew that Itachi would watch Naruto's every twitch, so he did his laps the old-fashioned way.

Round and around Naruto went, wearing a rut into the ground, as his body started to burn as it were on fire.

Finally, when Naruto was starting to worry that he would fail, Itachi signaled to Naruto. Without breaking stride, indeed increasing his already ridiculous pace, Naruto ran towards a clearly marked tree 300 yards away.

This was, in Naruto's opinion, the worst part of the workout. Repetitions were easy, times were extremely challenging.

Pushing himself to the absolute extreme, Naruto went so fast that he left an image of himself in the air behind him.

Naruto collapsed at Itachi's feet. He prayed that his time was good. He felt as if he would die if he took one more step. His pain tolerance could only be set so high.

Itachi had a cold, hard look on his face. "You…" Naruto closed his eyes, knowing what would follow Itachi's 'you.' "Pass." Naruto opened his eyes wide.

After a moment, Naruto started to laugh. Naruto's diaphragm, like every other part of his body, was at least twice as strong as a normal person's. His laugh could be heard all around Kumogakure.

Itachi, now smiling, helped Naruto up. "Tomorrow, we start with this." Reaching into one of his seemingly unlimited pockets, Itachi tossed Naruto a scroll labeled Step 2.

Naruto tore open the scroll, eager to see what would replace his work-out. It wasn't nearly as bad as Step 1. Just a bunch of lessons on tactics and a few hours of weapons training and taijutsu.

Naruto was about to grin when he realized that horrifying little footnote. "Reflexive Weight Seal?" Naruto asked, with some trepidation.

Itachi calmly went into a very scary set of hand seals. **"Ninja Art: Weight Seal Upgrade."** There was a flash of chakra, and Naruto thought it didn't work until he moved.

While Naruto struggled to move his hand, Itachi explained, the oh-so-familiar sadistic grin on his face. "The Reflexive Weight Seal is a more complex version of the normal Weight Seal."

"Unlike the normal Weight Seal, which simply increases your mass, the Reflexive Weight Seal reacts to your every movement, concentrating 500 pounds of resistance to every moving part of your body, individually."

Naruto groaned. The Council should not have simply said no to the Sebone-Buruda. They should have burned the scrolls right then and there.

But Naruto hadn't completely let go of that frenzied madness he'd had when starting his training. He still whispered "No pain, no gain, and you will always be the same," to himself, almost like a prayer.

Grunting against the consequential fire, Naruto stood up and entered the village, heading for his and Itachi's home.

Zatochi's hadn't changed much over the years. It was still a madhouse every night. And once Naruto had managed to actually walk home, he had been able to enjoy the life of the restaurant instead of just eating the noodles in his room.

The waitress, whom Naruto had never learned the name of, was just as bad as ever. Her vocabulary still had more swear words than normal conversational words, and she had became down-right scary with her impressive strength.

Every male in the village could still remember well the time that a man had tried to sneak out without paying, and the waitress had responded with a powerful kick to his nether regions.

Every single male within hearing distance, including Naruto and Itachi, had cringed when they heard a distinct squelch, and had seen a stain spread from where his testicles should have been.

The waitress, her voice as cold as ice, had simply said "I hope not having to pay was worth never having children." With that, she had continued with her job as if nothing had happened.

Oh yeah, she was scary. And yet, she could still make the transition from sailor to hostess in less than a second.

That night, Naruto ate like a king. He scarfed down bowl after bowl, silently cursing Itachi because the Reflexive seal made eating almost impossible.

The next day, Naruto sat down in the clearing, visibly steaming after a condensed version of the physical work-out of level 5. Itachi assumed the voice of a lecturer, and began.

Naruto, who was still only nine, found the mental exercise almost as exhausting as the physical training he had just gone through. Itachi went through scenario after scenario, asking Naruto what the best course of action would be.

He was almost always wrong, and Itachi would respond by asking an even harder question, not before forcing Naruto to do twenty speed push-ups.

When this was over, Itachi handed Naruto a training kunai. He then hung up a target on a nearby tree. "Hit that bull's eye fifty times, and then we'll move on to shurikan."

With 500 hundred pounds fighting every single one of your muscles, accuracy isn't the easiest thing to do. Naruto's first shot went wide. So did his tenth.

Just after Naruto finally managed to actually hit the target, Itachi took back the kunai. "Sloppy, sloppy work. I expected more." Naruto grimaced. He didn't like being talked down to.

"Now, to taijutsu." Naruto felt like he was being tailored for new clothes. Itachi corrected his posture to the minutest detail, and then further criticized him when he did the simple moves Itachi instructed.

And so another year flew by. Every night, Naruto would return to Zatochi's feeling like his brain had been beaten by a sledgehammer.

Naruto advanced very slowly through strategy, and his accuracy wasn't doing too well either. It's hard to control the path of a projectile when you're working muscles in your arm you never knew you had.

A few weeks after Naruto's 10th birthday, Naruto was wandering around Kumogakure, letting his feet lead him where they may.

Naruto had the strategy skills of a beginner Shoji player, which was still better than nothing. He mastered taijutsu stances easily; it was just keeping himself in perfect position that was the problem.

His accuracy was getting to the point that his misses were the exception, not the rule, which was why he had the day off. Itachi was busy looking for a katana, which was next in line, to train Naruto in.

Naruto was just going about his business when he felt a sudden pull toward a nearby weapons store.

"_Naruto-kun, there is something calling to you in that store. Better check it out." _Naruto nodded, since Kyuubi had more experience in these sorts of things.

When Naruto walked into the store the owner, a small rat-like man, looked surprised to see someone actually enter his store. But then he just settled down. It was just a kid.

Naruto looked around; trying to find what was drawing him. He found it in a back corner: a beautiful sword, a silver sheath lying on a mat above it.

Naruto did nothing but stare at the blade. It was intricately beautiful, covered in designs that reminded Naruto of wind-blown clouds. The metal itself was perfectly molded and looked extremely sharp.

"What do you want?" the owner asked, sneaking up on Naruto. Naruto asked without hesitation "How much for this sword?"

The shop owner looked shocked. "You don't want this sword. It's cursed. Every person I sell it to returns it within a day, claiming that ghosts riding the winds followed it."

"I personally don't understand why they don't keep it. This sword is beyond one of a kind." With a weary air, the man launched into the sword's story, sounding like he'd done so a million times.

"When Kumogakure had just been built, this strange smith shows up. He builds a house outside the walls and spends all day working at his forge."

"Whenever people saw him, he had a possessed look in his eye. When they asked what he was doing, he always said 'I'm making a sword.'"

"Twenty years passed in this fashion, and still no one saw what he was working on. Most people assumed he was making enough swords to open his own shop, but then he came into the village with just one sword, saying that it was the one he worked on all along."

"Naturally, people thought he was mad. Who spends 20 years on one sword? But people quieted down when gave a demonstration."

With expert skill, the shop owner picked up the sword and pulled something out of his pocket. It was a ball of iron.

Holding the sharp side of the blade up, the man dropped the ball. It landed on the ground in two halves, sliced cleanly in two.

Naruto stared with bugging eyes. That sword was unbelievably sharp. The man put the sword back on its mat, and continued with his story.

"The man called it the Roaring Whisper. A bit of an oxymoron, I know. Anyway, you'd think he'd sell this to the highest bidder, but he doesn't. He holds onto it like it's what's keeping him alive."

"One day, the man just disappeared. People went to look for his house, but it wasn't there. The last time anyone saw him was when he came into this shop and handed his sword to my dad. Said that the rightful owner would come to pick it up."

The shop owner took another thing out of his pocket. It was a scroll labeled Raging Whisper. "He also gave him this."

The shop keeper seemed to shake himself out of his reverie. "So, anyways, you don't want to buy it. Everyone tried to get their hands on it, but they always gave it back with a look on their face like they had just seen a ghost."

Naruto's eyes were drawn to small imperfections in the sheath, which had remained untouched through this whole affair.

"What are those words on the sheath?" Naruto pointed at the letters, which the shop owner didn't even look at. He recited the inscription the way a child recites a nursery rhyme.

"In the Age of the Jinchuriki, a true hero shall be scorned by the burden he carries. But he will forgive all, for the ones who scorned him made his strong. And wielding this sword, the Guardian of the Wind shall bring peace to the land."

A shiver ran up Naruto's spine. He knew what a Jinchuriki was. "I'll ask you one more time. How much for the sword?"

The man sighed. Another cycle of hope and disappointment. "If you want the sword, just take it. And the scroll. Just don't bring it back."

With that, leaving the scroll next to the Raging Whisper, the man walked into the back of his shop.

Naruto put the scroll in his pocket and picked up the sword. He instantly felt an electric shock go through him. The sword felt like it had been made for his hand.

Hesitantly, Naruto swung the sword over his head. It felt like an extension of his body. Naruto hurriedly put it in its sheath and ran to Zatochi's.

Naruto found Itachi on the floor of their room, a bunch of complicated looking math figures on various pieces of paper in front of him.

"Oh, hi Naruto-kun. What's that you got in your hands?" Itachi was still dizzy from calculating whether the double-edged katana he'd been considering for Naruto was worth its price.

"It's this one-of-a-kind sword I got for free. Even Kyuubi thinks it's special." Itachi's head instantly cleared. When a Bijuu thought something was special, it was special.

Naruto quickly ran through the entire exchange he'd had in the weapons shop. Itachi was slightly dubious of the swords alleged power, until Naruto used the sword to cut a training dummy in the corner of the room with barely any effort.

When Itachi was satisfied, he asked "What's in the scroll?" Naruto energetically answered "Let's check."

Naruto opened the scroll, noticing a slight spike in chakra as he did so. The scroll ran out to reveal some very complex looking forms, but what drew Naruto's eye was the message left by the smith at the beginning.

_If you have successfully opened this scroll,_ the note said, written in a scratchy, oddly majestic handwriting.

_Then whoever is reading this must be the Guardian of the Wind, even if you don't know it yet. _Naruto felt a wordless feeling flit through the back of his mind.

_You'll find out what the title implies in your own time. For now, I will simply explain my masterpiece, the Raging Whisper._

_The sword is one of five like it in the whole world. Again, you'll find out about the others soon enough. For now, let's focus on the one you wield._

_Raging Whisper is made out of the purest Chakracite, an extremely rare substance composed of iron ore intergrown with the planet's own chakra._

_I found a rich mine outside Kumogakure, and spent two decades of my life carefully mining and molding it, until it resulted in this sword._

_Raging Whisper can cut through any substance except Chakracite, in which case it is just like any other sword._

_Chakracite naturally bonds with any other chakra source it comes in contact with, including the human body. Before long, Raging Whisper will be just as much a part of you as the head on your shoulders._

_Only use this sword to serve your life's purpose, not for petty whims. Take in mind that you are holding a blade that many powerful beings would, and have, killed for._

The message ended there. Naruto felt shaken to his very core. _"Kyuubi, any idea what he's talking about when he says 'Guardian of the Wind?'?"_

Naruto heard nothing but a negative grunt. Naruto knew that Kyuubi didn't like realizing he was out of a loop, especially one as intricate as this one seemed to be.

* * *

After finding the Raging Whisperer, Naruto's life seemed to be on fast-forward.

Naruto quickly mastered the forms listed in the scroll that came with Raging Whisper. Before long, Itachi had remarked that Naruto was the finest swordsman he'd ever seen.

Both outcasts quickly learned to treat Raging Whisper with respect. Naruto had been shocked to discover that after pouring chakra into Raging Whisper, it could be manipulated twenty feet away from Naruto in mid-air, as if it were still in his hand.

Naruto also excelled at taijutsu. Before long, Itachi had started to help Naruto develop his own style.

After another year, Naruto passed Step 2. After testing Naruto for his elemental affinity, to discover that Naruto had an unnatural affinity for wind, they launched the final phase of the Sebone-Buruda, Step 3.

On the first day of Step 3, Itachi had explained to an excited Naruto "With your wind affinity, the Reishikaku, and Raging whisper, we're going to focus on the more assassin-like Jutsu, which is what a ninja really is in the end."

Naruto, with his near limitless chakra reserves and pinpoint chakra control, had flown through Step 3. He mastered any wind Jutsu almost as soon as it was introduced. And Naruto remembered with amusement at his own expense the afternoon that Itachi had taught him the Exploding Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Finally, exactly on Naruto's 12th birthday, Itachi proclaimed, with a smile so large it threatened to tear his facial muscles, "Congratulations, Naruto-kun! You pass the Sebone-Buruda!"

Naruto was silent with shock for a full minute, trying to accept that the impossible training he'd endured for half his life was over.

Then, with an explosive shout, Naruto grabbed Itachi and danced with joy.

* * *

**If you do not like this, than you shall die. I did not spend a full 2 weeks of my existence writing a 34 page chapter to get ridicule. Review. In a good way!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I am fully aware that the last chapter was of a suckish quality. I am also aware that it took half a year to update. Don't make a big deal out of it. I am just one drop in an ocean of hopeful writers. This story shall retain its length, but with a considerable increase in complexity and emotional background. Hope you like it.**

**P.S. If ARC-056 is reading this, please don't invade Washington D.C. Not only will you probably get shot as a terrorist, but I'll be trapped in my school building because of the sirens. So keep your gerbils in their cages, okay?**

* * *

Some would find it odd that Kumogakure no Sato, one of the five great Shinobi villages, could have another Jinchuuriki and an S-ranked criminal within its walls for six years, going through inhuman training, without anyone noticing. Those people were either ignorant or doubtful of Uchiha Itatchi's genjutsu abilities. The instant they had entered the walls, Itatchi had cast a multi-layered genjutsu of his own design on himself and on Naruto. It was coded to affect anyone actively molding chakra or spying on the user. It removed the user from the malevolent party's senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch, and even taste, as well as completely masking the user's chakra signature. To the Shinobi of Kumogakure, Uchiha Itatchi and Uzumaki Naruto did not exist.

Meanwhile, the civilians of the survivalist village assumed that the ninja knew everything. Thus, they felt no need to remark upon the strange pair of doubou (brothers) that were constantly going in and out of the village. The owner of Zatochi's and his niece didn't report simply because the two were a good source of income, and so did not feel any need to blab to some ninja who might take the paying pair away. The chef, obviously Zatochi, personally liked the pair: they were the first to not try to wheedle their way out of his usurious rent contract. His niece, whom he had forgotten the name of when she'd been left to him as a youji (baby), was too caught up in working for her uncle to have an opinion of the sole residents of the second floor.

The lack of attention was highly agreeable to the duo. Kumo already had two Jinchuuriki and would love to get their hands on a third. As for Itatchi, Kumo had no bloodline limits of its own, and would have gone orgasmic at the idea of dissecting the renegade Uchiha for his fabled Sharingan. So the fact that they had managed to remain incognito for over half a decade was a great source of pride for them. Itatchi was more level headed, but Naruto, for whom the need to stand out seemed to be coded into his DNA, he was constantly praising himself for avoiding unwanted attention for this long, placing it on his own stealth skills. Itatchi was too amused with the random boasting of his otouto (younger brother) to inform him that half of the accomplishments he felt were made by him were actually made successful because of his own work. Besides, was it really necessary for Naruto to know that he had blown Itatchi 100 meters with the **Daitoppa **(Great Breakthrough) simply because he had been too preoccupied in watching a butterfly to prepare himself?

Of the two, Itatchi was the least changed in appearance and attitude. Other than falling into the Kumo habit of letting his grey hair hang free instead of in its usual ponytail, he was the same as the day he walked past the gates: fishnet shirt, black cargo pants, and black Shinobi sandals. His face was slightly more lined, but the bags under his eyes were less noticeable. In all honesty, he had gone a little to seed. Being a sensei to the Sebone-Buruda was challenging, but it wasn't a real workout. In the absence of S-ranked ANBU missions, tiny bits of fat had started to grow around Itatchi's still-toned muscles. He didn't mind though: he could always work it off and with any luck the extra fat would drive off any fangirls that spontaneously appeared to win his love. He had mellowed out slightly, but in his core was still a sadistic slave-driver.

Naruto, however, looked as if some master artisan had seen a picture of him, and had decided to change it into a more pleasurable image. His hair was now totally bleached the same smoky white as his chakra, which had grown to his shoulders while retaining its ability to spike. His eyes had, at Naruto's request, stayed blue instead of turning into Kyuubi's red-and-with-slits eyes. However, the blue pools mirrored the horrors of the first half of Naruto's life, as well as the seriousness and responsibility that even he was aware came with great power. If there was ever a contest between Itatchi's sadistic grin and Naruto's death glare, the glare would win by a landslide.

All baby fat had been stripped from Naruto's lean physique, which stood at an impressive 5' 7''. His face was hard and angular, further accenting the raw power he seemed to emit like an aura. His whisker marks were thicker, looking more like tattoos than birthmarks, but they improved his image instead of marring it, giving him a feral look. He wore a fishnet shirt like Itatchi, but he had stopped the similarity there. He had, after a week's nagging, gotten Itatchi to take him clothes shopping. There, he had picked out grey shorts that came down to just below his knees, allowing for a free range of movement with his legs, which were bare until his modified black sandals, with a thicker base to avoid wearing and a looser hold on the top of his foot, to accommodate his high-step. He wore a black, short-sleeved jacket with the kanji for 'Ghost' on the back over his fishnet shirt (think Shikamaru's, but a different color). He had Gouzen Teisei (Roaring Whisper, which is the proper name. Sorry for the multiple typos in the first chapter!) strapped across his back diagonally from top-right to bottom-left.

As for Naruto's actual body, he looked like he had been sculpted by a master with an abundant supply of marble. His skin had had lost most of its tan in the natural cloudiness of Kumo (hence the name), but he was not as white as snow. His shade was most comparable to some brown tea that had been filled with three-quarters milk, leading to a tan-white that looked very good on him. His muscles were not freakishly maxed-out, but more lean and lithe. He was more like a jaguar than a bear: calm and controlled until he struck, where his true strength showed. But the Sebone-Buruda had hardened the toned muscles to the density of titanium.

In short, Naruto was now officially the most beautiful boy his age, at least in Kumo. Luckily for him, and the rest of the world in general, he was always either away with Itatchi training or sleeping at Zatochi's, so the terrible mutating disease know as fangirlism had not spread in reaction to Naruto. The boy, while having masculine hormones flowing through him since the age of nine, was still susceptible to the terrors a raging fan club could wreak. But his uncanny luck prevailed, and the only female company he had was Zatochi's niece.

Said young powerhouse was currently talking animatedly with his unofficial niisan while eating the Deluxe Special at Zatochi's in celebration to his completion of the Sebone-Buruda. While the near-albino Jinchuuriki talked about subjects close to his heart, Itatchi tried to pay attention, but the boy was talking so fast that he could hardly keep up. All he could catch were the words "training", "finished", and "totally awesome". His otouto's ramblings made Itatchi smile, happy that he was happy. True, in some corner of his heart he still worried about Sasuke and how he was coping, but for the sake of his continued sanity he allowed his brotherly bond with Naruto to flourish. His actions under Madara's influence still haunted his nightmares.

Of course (to those who think I'm just giving Naruto free power), the Sebone-Buruda was not without its drawbacks, which Itatchi had conveniently forgotten to mention. First off, Naruto's muscles burned off calories much faster than a normal human's, which meant that under normal circumstances he would have to eat like a glutinous Akimichi every hour just to survive. However, Kyuubi again showed his worth, by slightly altering Naruto's biochemistry. Due to Kyuubi's tampering, Naruto's body now used up any and all forms of energy entering it, and to maximum effect. What that meant was that now Naruto could absorb energy from the sun through his skin, and perhaps the oddest change, used up every single substance that entered him. This effectively eliminated using the bathroom, since his body now just recycled the… waste into new proteins. While Naruto was at first a little creeped out by the idea of never using a toilet again, he now just saw it as a chance to live his life without unnecessary breaks.

Another consequence was that should the weight seal ever be removed, the body would be unaccustomed to the consequential monstrous speed, leading the tearing of muscles and possibly organs. However, Kyuubi had once again voided such worries, if unintentionally. The Reishikaku took no strain on the body other than a constant drain in chakra, so Naruto did not have to worry about winding up in the ER because of his speed, since all he had to do was activate his bloodline when his weighted speed was insufficient, instead of releasing the seal. Itatchi found it highly amusing that all the flaws in his 'brilliant' training regime were counteracted by Naruto's 'tenant.' The only _real_ worry to the Sebone-Buruda in Naruto's case was the high chance of fatality, which he himself had beaten with his unyielding determination.

All of this boiled down to one simple fact: Uzumaki Naruto had no-strings-attached, totally-badass power, and lots of it. Hence the celebrations in progress in Kumo's greatest ramen bar (if the grammar looks weird, it's because my computer wouldn't shut up till I changed it).

Naruto ate his meal with the behavior and elegance of a starving dog. Sure, he had turned into a walking generator, but that didn't change the fact that he got hungry very fast. However, Itatchi had managed to beat (literally) some manners into him, so he didn't talk while he was shoveling the noodles, steaming broth, and every meat known to man down his throat. He was finished the entire bowl in 2 minutes 37 seconds: less than one fifth of the standard time it took to eat the obscene amount of ramen for most customers. Not wanting to annoy Itatchi too much, Naruto refrained from ordering seconds. While Naruto continued his one-sided conversation where he left off before diving into the bowl, Itatchi calmly ate his meal with patience and grace that would not seem out of place in a Daimyo's court.

As Itatchi ate, he was unaware of a customer spying on him. The man was from out of down, and was quite obviously out of place no matter the location. The man's skin was an odd blue color, reminiscent of dolphin skin, and was marred by six fins that immediately made any onlookers think of a shark. The man wore a black cloud embossed with red clouds, and carried on his back what seemed to be a sword wrapped in bandages. On his left ring finger, there was a ring with the kanji for 'South.' His eyes seemed to lock onto Itatchi's every movement, paying no heed to the genjutsu covering him like a thick haze. To most it would be impenetrable, but not to him. Pain-sama had given clear instructions on how to track his target.

When Itatchi finally finished the last morsel and Naruto ran out of exaggerated anecdotes, the two paid Zatochi's niece the bill, and made their way to their room.

When the two had settled into their futons, and were just starting to fall asleep, Naruto cleared his throat. With an appropriate amount of trepidation, he voiced an idea that he had been harboring and growing for the past month. "Hey, niisan (older brother), what would you say if I told you I wanted to go back to Konoha?" Itatchi was instantly fully awake and sitting up, staring at his otouto's back with incredulity and confusion so intense it was almost comical. Almost. "I would say that you must have suffered a recent head injury and are spouting nonsense." Naruto winced at that; he didn't like his ideas being written off as unworthy of attention. "Why would you say that?" Naruto asked. "Because going back to Konoha would be suicide," Itatchi retorted with all the venom of a striking cobra. "But it's our home," Naruto replied, knowing that the feeble excuse would not hold up with Itatchi.

Itatchi forcibly turned Naruto around to face him, a move that would have bruised a more fragile person, so that he could see the mixed apprehension and fear in Itatchi's eyes. Itatchi's emotional wall from his ANBU day's had crumbled over the years, something that he was eternally grateful to whatever god there was for; to deny one's emotions was to deny life itself. "We _can't_ go back," Itatchi said, trying to convey to his otouto how impossible the proposed idea was. "You are supposed to be dead; go back and you'll either be killed for real or enslaved by the Council. And I… I couldn't handle going back there. I'd go insane from the memories," Itatchi confessed in a whisper. Recollections of _that_ night rose, unbidden, from the depths of Itatchi's mind. He involuntarily started to shake.

Naruto instinctively patted his niisan on the shoulder to comfort him, abusing his power to instantly lightening a person's mood to serve his own ends. He needed to make Itatchi see his reasons. "Itatchi," Naruto began, trying to convince the stubborn weasel. "I know that Madara mind-fucked you to no end," he said, ignoring Itatchi's glare at him for swearing. "But think about how Sasuke must be living. He's lived every day for six years with the belief that you, the niisan he looked up to and loved, murdered his and your entire clan in cold blood. He's either gone clinically insane, or developed an avenger complex. Tell me, would you want your _real _otouto, your own flesh and blood, to live, breathe, and exist solely for the chance to kill you and take revenge for your clan? That's no way to live, and when he succeeded, he would have nothing. Do you want that for him?"

Itatchi suppressed the horrors Naruto's words inspired in his mind and gave the blond his most piercing stare. "Stop playing on my inner fears. For what reason on this earth would you want to go to the place where the people on the street, whom you never did anything to, made you want to curl up and die like an insect every second of every day from the intensity of their hate?" Naruto didn't flinch or react in any way to the question; the only sign of him hearing was the coldness in his eyes dropping a few more degrees.

Naruto began slowly, trying to explain the feelings that had plagued him for weeks without reason. "It's true that I hate them," he said, with no trace of any guilt or shame: it was the undeniable truth. "But it's not their fault that they made me hate them. They woke up one morning, and they realized that their loved ones, their brothers, sisters, spouses, neighbors, were all dead. They were killed mercilessly and beyond recognition. They woke up, and it was all gone." Naruto's tone caught Itatchi's attention: he spoke from understanding, even though he had never had any of those people until Itatchi, and even that was not a bond of blood. He spoke like a poet mourning the death in the stories he told. Itatchi got chills from the tone; here was a twelve-year old speaking like an old, withered soul that had seen and experienced every sadness and misery that life had to offer, and was able to sympathize with any other troubled soul. It was true that Naruto had had no one, but if anything that made him understand more. To have actually _had_ those kinds of bonds and then to lose them… Naruto couldn't contemplate the horror.

"They needed an outlet. Their loss threatened to consume them utterly, to tip them into the abyss and let them fall into the void. Imagine how they felt when they realized that they _did_ have something they could blame it all on, someone to heap their sorrows onto so that they could feel just a little better." Itatchi found himself doing just that, all the while shocked with his otouto's story-telling skills. "I was that something. I was the vessel of the very thing that had killed all whom they loved so ruthlessly that they were just blood staining the ground. So, in their infinite loss, they targeted me. They felt that by hurting me, they could hurt that thing that had caused them so much pain and suffering. By hurting me, they were getting their revenge on the demon of demons, the Kyuubi."

Inside Naruto's mind, Kyuubi felt like pointing out that he had only come to kill the corrupt and all those innocents got in his way, but stayed silent because he felt that Naruto was on a roll. "Overtime, the concept of me as a middle-man mutated. I was no longer the _container_ of the Kyuubi; I _was_ the Kyuubi. I was the monster that had hurt them so, and I insulted the memory of those I killed with every breath I took. I was a destroyer, mocking them with my continued existence." Naruto had given considerable thought on how he was perceived by the villagers, and he had come to understand just how much pain the villagers were in. He had long accepted that he had been made to suffer as a scapegoat to insure the continued sanity of the people of Konohagakure no Sato. The psychology lessons from Itatchi had helped, though.

"I _understand_ why I was treated the way I was, Itatchi. That doesn't lessen my hate, but I understand. _And I can't let them keep thinking of me that way_!" Naruto spoke with such emotion that Itatchi was startled. "My father didn't give up his life so that the villagers he loved could treat his Sochi (son) as if he were some punching bag for them to let out all their hate and anger out onto. For it to continue would insult my parents, myself, and the name of Konohagakure itself. _That's_ why I want to go back. I need to correct this dire mistake. I can't live with this on my conscience." Itatchi was surprised with the wisdom in Naruto's words. The way Naruto phrased it, Itatchi had half a mind to storm back to Konoha right now and make the villagers see the errors of their ways.

Surprising Itatchi, Naruto took out Gouzen Teisei and pointed to the inscription on the sheath.

"In the Age of the Jinchuuriki, a true hero shall be scorned for the burden he carries. But he will forgive all, for the ones who scorned him made him strong. And wielding this sword, the Guardian of the Wind shall bring peace to the land."

He still didn't know what the last part meant, but he understood the first two lines fine. Naruto read the words with a small smile on his lips, turning to Itatchi so that he may bask in its brilliance. "Even my sword is trying to tell me to go back. The 'he will forgive all' part, that's exactly what I'm doing. But to forgive, there must be understanding. And how can I forgive the village if all they'll see is the Kyuubi mocking them further?" The question was truly unanswerable, so Itatchi kept his mouth shut.

"Besides, all the stuff I said about Sasuke is true. Madara made a mess, and you have to clean it up. If not for your otouto than at least for your own peace of mind." Itatchi heard Naruto's words, and he thought it over. After he had analyzed the request, he could see that Naruto had every justification to go back to the village. And personally, Itatchi had a responsibility to heal his brother of whatever illness the massacre had infected him with. Finding no way he could honestly say no, Itatchi finally nodded his head.

Naruto's smile could be seen from the top of the Hokage monument.

* * *

The next morning, the sun broke over the horizon, shining through the mountains surrounding the village, reveling in shedding its light unobstructed before it was blocked by the impenetrable clouds. As the light briefly covered the village, it seemed to favor a pair walking out of the gates, bathing them in golden rays. As the two walked, there was a preeminent feeling of purpose, as if the two were about to embark upon a momentous journey that would change their lives. The looked the part: packs on their backs, weapon pouches and personal weapons strapped on, and the figurative steel of resolve in their eyes. Unknown to them and hidden from the sun, there was a third figure leaving the village. However, this person was not walking the road of the civilian, but the road of the ninja, jumping from hiding spot to hiding spot, remaining totally undetected as he kept up with his quarry.

Several hours passed in this fashion: the two travelers keeping up a steady pace on the road to the southwest, and the third figure creeping behind them every step of the way. Little could be seen of the man watching them, but in the rare moments he was in the sunlight, you could just see the Kiri hitai-ate on his forehead. However, the headband was slashed horizontally, apparently by a sharp knife. To some it would seem like the hitai-ate was merely damaged, but to those that were aware and cautious, they would know what the slash signified: that the one wearing it was a traitor. Despite his outlandish appearance, his skill was great, and he kept below the radar the entire time, no matter that the two he were tracking possessed heightened senses and battle experience. The hunter was just that good.

Eventually, the pair walking the normal road came to a stop, and began the myriad but enjoyable operations of preparing the midday meal. The hunter watched them, not missing a detail.

The two had apparently known each other for quite some time, for they had mastered the art of communicating with a glance. No conversation was needed, and thus the serenity of nature's symphony continued uninterrupted. The two were slow in their eating, savoring the beauty of the scenery. The hunter waited in patience; he had time, and no need to rush his mission.

Finally, the two finished their simple yet filling meal, and started to pack their supplies back into their packs. The hunter decided that now was as good a time as any, and used the moment to reveal himself. Seemingly from nowhere, an aquatic-looking man walked out of the trees towards the pair, who quickly noticed the intruder and instantly put themselves on alert. For a few seconds, both parties appraised the other. The shark-man noticed how the travelers handled themselves: graceful, conservative, and not a single move made was unnecessary. The pair in turn sized up the hunter: large, slightly restless, with a power that was noticeable even when he was still. There could be no doubt: the two groups were polar opposites of each other.

When the traveling pair had recovered from the intrusion sufficiently, the hunter spoke, displaying his serrated teeth.

"Hello, there. I am Hoshigaki Kisame, and I represent Akatsuki. I was wondering if you two would be willing to hear a business offer." Kisame spoke with total confidence, assured in his ability to escape danger should danger arise. Itatchi and Naruto noticed this, and raised their guard slightly; this was not a man to mess with. "What is this 'Akatsuki' and what deal would it be offering us," Itatchi inquired, adopting a civil tone in order to avoid the fight that it was obvious this man was expecting and hoping for.

Kisame smiled, and delayed the question. "I see you did not inquire as to who _I_ am. Do you already know me by reputation, or do you assume I am some underling for whom the recognition of a name is not worth the effort?" The man's muscles tensed minutely, and his body language shifted to show hostility. Both Naruto and Itatchi saw the changes clear as day. Itatchi, being more experienced with situations similar to this one, answered Kisame instead of Naruto, who was aware of his lack of finesse in such matters. "By reputation, of course. All who are worthy to call themselves a swordsman knows of the infamous Hoshigaki Kisame, a former member of the Mist Seven Swordsmen. Even now, you carry your legendary Samehada, which you used to kill the feudal lords of Mizu no Kuni."

Kisame smiled, as if pleased that the tales of his killings had reached the ears of the two. "It seems that I am not totally unpopular, despite the efforts Kirigakure makes to brand me a traitor. Those lords were greedy and selfish, concerned more with their personal gain than the genocide that was tearing their country apart. I was doing a public service when I cleaved their heads with Samehada." As Kisame spoke, the covered sword on his back seemed to bulge, as if the blade itself were shivering in the memories of its deeds. Itatchi smiled cordially, ignoring the odd the behavior of Kisame's weapon. "As pleasant as it is to converse with one as well-known as you, I can't help but notice that you haven't answered my questions. What is this deal that this Akatsuki is offering, and what of Akatsuki itself?"

Kisame smiled, or more accurately showed his teeth: there was far too much predator-like glee in the expression for it to be a true smile. "Since you asked so nicely, I'll tell you. Akatsuki is an organization of men like myself who tried to help their countries but were scorned because of it. United by our Leader, who knows our pain, he leads us in the name of bringing this troubled world to an endless peace." Itatchi raised one eyebrow, calculating how high it would go to show both interest and amusement, but not too much of the latter in case it angered the man talking to them. "A lofty goal, there is no doubt. Many have tried and failed to do the same thing. What sets this Leader of yours different from countless other hopefuls?"

Kisame smiled, and spoke in the manner of a fanatic describing his master. "Our Leader is different, because he knows the true ways of peace. By his efforts, the world will fall into endless pain, so great to change mankind itself. Then he shall, in his benevolence, take the pain away, leaving a world that knows the consequences of evil. After living through such pain, the people will hear the truth when our Leader says that all evils must cease so that there may never be pain again. And thus there will be and endless peace, because the world will know that should it not follow peace, it will once again feel the pain our Leader can bring." A smile of nearly orgasmic pleasure plastered Kisame's face, while Naruto couldn't hide his shocked expression. Itatchi had more discipline with his features.

"Peace through the threat of war? A different approach, to be sure, but how this threat would be enough to ensure peace, I cannot see. It is in human nature to quarrel; no outside discomfort, no matter how great, could change the heart of man to its core. Even if it were possible, how would your Leader be able to inflict such pain?" Kisame's smiled before answering, his eyes now on Naruto. "Leader-sama knows pain like no other. He recognizes that the greatest tools of pain were none other than the fabled Bijuu. In his infinite power and wisdom, he discovered the means to bind the Bijuu to the will of one man. That is how _this_ peace will last: because if there is war, it will be quelled and destroyed by the beasts that could make the very mountains quake. With the Bijuu at his and his descendents disposal, Leader-sama will guarantee the continuation of the world peace, lest the Bijuu were to deliver retribution."

Naruto had gone on high alert from the word 'Bijuu.' It was only a minimal surprise when Kisame pointed to him. "Over the ages, mankind has learned of a way to trap the Bijuu. We must gather those that house them in order to obtain the will of the beasts. The extraction is lethal, but for the greater good, sacrifices must be made. And what are nine deaths compared to no death at all except that brought upon by nature's hands? This is our offer, Uchiha Itatchi. You killed your clan, who in their arrogance believed themselves gods among men. You know what it means to make sacrifices for the greater good. Give us the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki as a good-faith offer, and we will let you join the ranks of the organization that shall bring the ultimate salvation."

Naruto had to forcibly stop his lip muscles from curling into a smirk. Kisame had just signed his own death warrant.

Itatchi calmly replied, the only sign of the destructive force he was about to unleash the twitching of his hands toward his ANBU issue ninjatō. "Well, Hoshigaki Kisame, you seem to be a little presumptuous in your demands. Naruto is my friend that I have come to see as my otouto; I could not and will not hand him over like some trivial possession to trade. Besides that, why would you think I could just hand Naruto over? He is his own person as well as an extraordinarily powerful young man trained in the Shinobi arts. You would have to defeat him to even get him to come with you, unless he has some sort of suicidal tendency that I do not know about. And finally," Itatchi said, activating his Sharingan as he stared Kisame down. "I did not kill my family of my own free will or inclination, so I do not know anything of this 'sacrifice' concept."

Itatchi expertly drew his ninjatō, putting Kisame on alert. "You have insulted me and Naruto with your offer. I will not join Akatsuki or have anything to do with it on any level. In fact, now that I am aware of such an abominable group, I will do everything in my power to bring it down. Starting with your demise." With that, Itatchi disappeared, only to reappear behind Kisame, his ninjatō already swinging in an arc that would cut off Kisame's head. However, Kisame was not classified as an S-rank missing-nin for nothing. Without even looking, the shark-man ducked the swing and jumped away, drawing Samehada in midair.

Kisame smiled, and it wasn't a 'happy-birthday-here's-your-cake' kind of smile. No, it was an 'I-can't-thank-you-enough-for-this-chance-to-kill-you' type of smile, further accented by his shark-like face. "You WILL serve with Akatsuki, even if I have to drag you there by your broken legs. As for the Jinchuuriki, he'll get the same treatment."

Itatchi shook his head at the Kenjutsu master's arrogance, which was on par with his father's, and believe it when it's said that means something. "While I acknowledge that you are probably one of the more powerful opponents I might ever face, that doesn't change the fact that Naru-kun and I will kill you." Naruto smiled while gripping Gouzen Teisei, replying "You're too kind, Chi-kun. You should handle it considering how he mocked your family's murder."

Kisame, slightly annoyed that the fight hadn't already started, yelled at the pair "Stop acting like some gay couple and fight me, damn--" Kisame stopped talking so as to better avoid the stab Itatchi had aimed at him, crossing the distance between them in seconds. A feral grin threatened to bisect Kisame's face as he countered Itatchi with a horizontal swipe, which was easily dodged. Itatchi was faster, no question, but Kisame had more power and a longer reach.

Taking advantage of that, Kisame brought Samehada up and brought it down on Itatchi's head, only to hit air. Sensing a presence behind him, Kisame swung Samehada around, making a scar in the ground as he did. He was slightly surprised to see it was the Kyuubi-brat, but he didn't turn down the challenge. Expertly, Kisame hit the near-albino in the side with the flat of Samehada, knocking him into a tree. Or rather, that's what should have happened. Instead, the boy _somehow_ twisted in the air, almost dancing around Samehada while in midair. Seeing that he wouldn't have time to bring Samehada back to block, Kisame performed a **Kawarimi **(if you don't know what that means, you shouldn't even be reading this), leaving Naruto to slice a log in half.

Kisame was about to lunge at the brat's unprotected back from the cover of the nearby trees, before he heard a cry of **"Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Great Fireball Technique)"** from his right. When he did hear that, and noticed the giant ball of flame headed towards him out of the corner of his eye, Kisame instead swiped at the offending attack. Samehada greedily ate up the chakra that fuelled the fireball, effectively canceling it. Kisame brought Samehada back up in time to block the swipe that Itachi had aimed at his heart. Before Kisame could hurl the annoying weasel into a thick swath of trees, said weasel said, in a quiet whisper, **"Bunshin Bakuha (Shadow Clone Explosion)."**

Pure instinct saved Kisame from a few pesky third-degree burns. He performed another **Kawarimi**, avoiding the impressive explosion that occupied where once there was an exact copy of Itatchi. Not getting a chance to catch his breath, Kisame was forced to bend over backwards to avoid the barrage of shuriken thrown at him by the Kyuubi-brat. Still stuck in a Matrix-reminiscent position, the brat formed a single hand seal before yelling **"Daitoppa (Great Breakthrough)!"** Following his words, the boy breathed out a gust of chakra-enforced wind headed directly towards Kisame.

Performing his third **Kawarimi** in almost-as-many seconds, Kisame was feeling just a little pissed. _'This is ridiculous! One of them attacks while the other gets ready for me, and then attacks when I avoid the attack. If I weren't on the receiving end, I'd say that it was the perfect strategy. As it is, I can't even land a hit, and that makes me MAD!"_

The instant he was in a new position from the **Kawarimi**, he created a **Mizu Bunshin (Water Clone)**, and leapt in a random direction. Itatchi, going by reflex, attacked the **Mizu Bunshin **when he saw it with a kunai barrage, while Kisame got just enough breathing room to perform one of his favorite jutsu. **"Suiton: ****Baku Suishouha (Water Release: Bursting Water Collision Waves)," **yelled Kisame, before vomiting a massive quantity of water from of his mouth. Naruto had been expecting another **Kawarimi** and, unprepared, was swept up in the deluge. Itatchi, however, had both experience and an active Sharingan. Almost as if it were choreographed, Itatchi leapt above the wave of water headed toward him. As the water settled to create a miniature lake, Itatchi almost artfully settled onto the water's surface, turning to face his once-again grinning opponent.

"You had me going for a second there. Now that I'm warmed up, let's get serious." Kisame followed up on his words, by forming a single hand seal. Itatchi raised an eyebrow when the shark-man yelled **"Tajuu Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu (Mass Water Clone Technique)!"** The raised eyebrow quickly became furrowed in concentration when a positive ARMY of **Mizu Bunshins** rose up out of the water. Hundreds of Kisame's smiled like a predator, before one of them roared "Atakku (attack)!"

Now, a **Mizu Bunshin** has only a tenth of the casters' chakra. However, Kisame had such large reserves that each **Mizu Bunshin** had enough chakra to take on a rookie Chuunin. Add a parasitic broadsword copied a thousand times over, and Itatchi was not facing good odds. He didn't have enough room to make any **Kage Bunshin** (again, this is too basic to have to translate), as they would only limit moving room as well as be quickly dispelled by one of Samehada's strikes. He couldn't use genjutsu, as the clones technically didn't have any brains to manipulate. He could use a wide-area Katon jutsu, but that would consume too much chakra, assuming the clones didn't avoid it in the first place.

Itatchi, unfortunately, didn't have enough time to come up with an effective strategy in the time it took for the first of Kisame's clones to reach him. Deciding to simply survive until a better plan came to mind, Itatchi avoided the strike and delivered a crippling cut to the clone, returning it to water. Instantly, two more took its place. Adopting a mantra of _'Avoid, slash, repeat,'_ Itatchi started to slowly make his way through the legion of clones.

Kisame, well aware of Itatchi's skills, didn't trust his clones to finish him off. But Kisame had free time, something you should never give any S-rank enemy. Kisame quickly went through hand seals, while Itatchi steadily made his way towards his position.

Itatchi was working at a frenzied pace, trying to reach the original Kisame in time to interrupt whatever plan the swordsman had. But numbers would always slow down skill, and before Itatchi was anywhere close to the original Kisame, he heard a cry of **"Suiton: ****Suikoudan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Shark Projectile Technique**)**!"** Following the yell, a giant shark made out of water formed from the lake water and rushed towards Itatchi, plowing through countless **Mizu Bunshin**, which only added water and mass to the jutsu. Itatchi was in the middle of contemplating whether he had time to perform a Katon jutsu in time to intercept the attack when Kisame formed an additional seal and yelled **"Katsu (split)!"**

The next moment, Itatchi was facing five smaller, more maneuverable sharks instead of one massive one.

Itatchi might well have been in serious trouble had not a white and black blur shot up from the lake. Said blur had a sword in its hands, which was currently spinning like the blades of an electric fan. The blur threw the rapidly spinning sword towards the diminishing gap between Itatchi and the sharks, yelling **"Fuuton: Bouheki Tate (Wind Release: Protective Shield)!"**

The sword stopped in front of Itatchi, staying in place as it span even faster, forming a wall of wind that was spinning around and around, resembling a round shield. The sharks impacted with the wall, exploding into millions of water droplets, until Itatchi was standing behind a whirling wall of water. Smiling ever so slightly, Itatchi formed some borrowed hand seals, before yelling **"Suiton: Suikoudan no Jutsu (look above for translation)."** In seconds, the wall had reformed into a giant shark, this time filled with wind chakra for extra wind power. Gouzen Teisei came back to Naruto's hand, having been the blur from before.

Kisame, while slightly shocked by this turn of events, performed yet another **Kawarimi** with one of the many **Mizu Bunshin** that still existed. The clone that suddenly occupied Kisame's position didn't last long, being hit by the water shark less than a second later. While when Kisame performed the jutsu, the clones were absorbed into the shark, Itatchi's shark had the disadvantages of being both mediocre (Itatchi was not a primary water type) and containing residual wind chakra. Therefore, the clone provided just enough resistance for the shark to explode, which upon destruction released both a torrent of water droplets and a blast of wind.

Hidden by the mass of clones, Kisame observed the reunited pair of Itatchi and Naruto. Both turned towards the still impressive number of clones. As if reading each others' minds, the two simultaneously formed hand seals. Kisame, recognizing both jutsu, hastily dived beneath the surface, knowing what was coming. He was none too soon, as the pair finished sealing moments later and yelled in sync, **"Katon/Fuuton Kentai: Kakka Aori (Fire/Wind Release Combination: Burning Gust)!"** Naruto then blew out a **Daitoppa **while Itatchi breathed out a **Goukakyuu**. The two jutsu combined to form what resembled a flaming funnel of wind, being a large blast of air burning with white-hot flames.

Suffice to say, the **Mizu Bunshin** didn't so much dissipate as evaporate.

Kisame stayed safely below the surface of the lake, watching the blinding flash of the combined jutsu. Kisame's gills were not just for show, at least not in the concept of breathing underwater. While the gills themselves were merely cosmetic, Kisame had discovered that by focusing chakra to his lungs, he could extend his body's use of oxygen, to the point where one breath was equivalent to 100. Of course, that was two minutes at most, but that was plenty of time for Kisame. Unfortunately for him, he was coming up blank. Itatchi he had expected a decent fight from, but the brat was a wildcard. He had revealed impressive skills, and when in concert with Itatchi, the two appeared invincible. Of course, invincible is a concept hard to swallow for many ninja; for example, how could you believe in invincibility when the Shodai Tsuchikage was assassinated by a _Genin_?

Kisame weighed his options. He could run away, and risk the infinite wrath of Pain-sama. Kisame immeadiately discarded the idea; he didn't have any interest in having the Human Realm dragging his soul out of him. He could try a surprise attack, but that had proven ineffective so far. And even Kisame wasn't proud enough to think he could win in the classic macho standoff. He sighed, releasing a good chunk of his air. He'd have to use _that_ technique. Well, it was either that or death, so…

Itatchi was eying the environment, trying to watch out for Kisame, while Naruto used his hearing to try and track the missing-nin. Both of them were surprised, however, when Kisame jumped up right in front of them, bursting from the surface of the water. Before they could so much as gasp, Kisame tossed Samehada into the air and yelled **"Samehada Jusui (Sharkskin Drowning Suicide)!"** The sword suddenly glowed from the inside, revealing an artificial chakra system, flowing with blue energy. It was only visible for a second, because the next moment, the sword exploded, turning into a torrent of water… aimed straight down on the three.

In an instant, before any reaction could take place, the mass of water hit their shoulders. The water appeared to have retained Samehada's leeching capabilities, because Itatchi instantly felt his chakra take a severe dive. He was forced under the lake's surface, his precious oxygen flowing from his lips in a stream of bubbles. Itatchi was only aware of tumbling around with no sense of gravity, feeling like his chakra was being sucked out of him like a straw, and the burning sensation of his lungs bursting.

Itatchi had never wondered how he would die until that moment.

The millisecond before his lungs collapsed like popped balloons, his head broke the surface. He greedily sucked in air, tasteless and raw against his strained lungs, and more delicious than sake from Kashu no Kuni (Land of Wine). As the life-giving oxygen was distributed back into his bloodstream, Itatchi regained some semblance of situational awareness. He was currently lying like a limp rag on the ground, with small rivulets of water flowing downhill and into the ground. Some of the water still ate at Itatchi's chakra, but he was too tired to move away.

After a minute, during which time Itatchi remained feeling like a piece of used toilet paper, a shadow blocked the sun shining into Itatchi's eyes. The Uchiha prodigy could vaguely make out blue skin and hair.

"You owe me a new sword," Kisame huffed out, panting for breath. Even with his gargantuan reserves, he still felt like he had fought for three days straight against an army of ANBU. In layman's terms, he was dog-tired. He could see Itatchi lying at his feet, looking as dangerous as newborn mouse, and the Jinchuuriki lying in the bushes a distance off. Kisame shakily reached into his pouch, searching for a soldier pill. Trying to keep his mind off the hollow feeling of chakra exhaustion, Kisame chose to enlighten Itatchi as to what technique he used.

"I made that move as a make-it-or-break-it maneuver. I would overload Samehada with water chakra, and then let it implode. I'd get a wave of chakra-sucking water equal to how much chakra was flowing through it. And trust me; I put in enough to make a Kage envious." Kisame grinned, bringing a soggy soldier pill to his mouth. Upon chewing, Kisame felt a brief surge go through his body. It wouldn't last though; you could give a person with sleep deprivation coffee, but nothing worked better than sleep. That was as close a comparison as any to using soldier pills. Kisame was aware of strength in his limbs, but still felt a bone-deep weariness.

Just as he was preparing to hoist Itatchi onto his back, Itatchi heard a weak "Wait just a minute." Kisame whirled around, staring disbelieving at the Jinchuuriki as he picked himself up, before staring at him with those disconcertingly cold eyes. "How the hell are you standing?" Kisame yelled, unable to accept the images his eyes were sending to his brain. Kisame had the chakra of two Kages, easy, and he was barely able to move without a soldier pill. This kid was moving on his own energy minutes after Samehada was sacrificed!

It was inconceivable.

Naruto managed a weak smile, before picking Gouzen Teisei from the ground near him. He merely said "I'm Uzumaki Naruto," before he vanished. Kisame had no warning; no itch at the back of his head that identified as his 'ninja sense.' He didn't hear the whisper of feet moving across the ground, or the telltale intake of breath preceding the yell of a jutsu. One moment he was seeing the world, and the next there was only darkness and peace.

Naruto starred at the corpse at his feet. He had used a minor **Shunshin (Body Flicker)** to get behind Kisame, before executing a slice to the neck with Gouzen Teisei. The blade cut through the skin, muscle, and bones like a hot knife through butter.

Naruto looked at his hands, reflecting on how they had taken a man's life. However, he had been driven to the brink of death enough times in his first half-dozen years to be familiar with it. Besides, Kyuubi had killed thousands, and with the merging of their reserves, it was almost as if there was a muscle memory of killing. All in all, instead of dry-heaving in the bushes, Naruto merely sighed.

"You were my first opponent," he said, not caring that the ears his words were meant for no longer functioned. "You were a truly masterful warrior," he said, paying his respect to the fallen swordsmen. Crouching, feeling like an 80-year old man with arthritis, Naruto picked up Kisame's decapitated head. Sighing, Naruto took out a storage scroll from his waterproof backpack and sealed the body part into it. Kisame had a bounty of 25,000,000 ryo, enough money for a man to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at a five-star restaurant every day for 10 years.

Itatchi stared silently at his otouto as he dealt with his first kill. Personally, Itatchi was amazed that Naruto was dealing with it so well. But then again, he was Naruto. Gasping, Itatchi gathered enough breath to say, "Amazing, Naruto-otoutosan. I'm proud of you."

Naruto stood stock-still for a second, before feeling as if his heart was expanding to fill his entire body. Were he at full energy, he would have proclaimed his joy to the heavens. As it was, Naruto merely grinned and said "Thank you, Itatchi-oniisan." At that moment, despite the fact that he felt as tired as if he had done the level five workouts all day and his weights were making his every moment like pushing against steel, Naruto felt as if he could die right then and there and have no regrets.

Naruto returned to earth after a minute, still on a pride high. Leaving Kisame's body to decompose in peace, Naruto dragged Itatchi to his feet, forced a soldier pill into his lips, and continued walking down the path, dragging his limping brother behind him.

* * *

The night was perfect by all standards. The multitude of the forest animals had settled down into their nighttime haunts, while those of a nocturnal nature left to hunt and otherwise experience the world. There was a comfortable silence in the air, one that seemed to say "All is well, go to sleep." And sleep was surely on the forefront of Naruto's and Itatchi's minds when the two painstakingly made a campfire and set about making a halfway-decent meal. These actions, normally as easy as breathing, were impaired by the fact that their muscles were screaming so loudly with pain that they were honestly surprised that their cries couldn't be heard. The effects of the fight with Kisame had taken hold and festered during the half-limping walk the two of them had made on the road to the border.

After half an hour of jerky winces and cringing hisses, the two managed to fill their stomachs with some oatmeal, beyond caring that it was food for the wrong meal.

When the two of them had full stomachs, they sat in silence while the nighttime sounds continued around them. After a time, Naruto, as usual, broke the silence. "So, Itatchi how was I?" Itatchi knew what Naruto was talking about, but was too tired to inflate Naruto's ego by only pointing out the good stuff. "You were lucky. You have skill, but experience always trumps talent, and if you didn't have near-unlimited chakra deserves from Kyuubi, you would have died at the end. Kisame was an accomplished Jonin in Kirigakure for almost twenty years. You caught him by surprise and when he was tired. That's all."

Naruto flinched from his niisan's words. "But I got him with all those jutsu! And I practically cut his head off the first swing!" Itatchi retorted, silencing his otouto's whining. "Naruto, if you can't take criticism, then you shouldn't be fighting. NO one is perfect; understand that." Naruto, officially rebuked, cringed under Itatchi's glare, feeling strangely guilty for his outburst.

"I won't deny that you were impressive, considering that this was your first action. But we were going up against an enemy we outnumbered, whom was ordered not to kill us. And, frankly, at first glance, I'm a much bigger threat than you. I saw a dozen different opportunities for Kisame to kill you, and keep in mind that the fight lasted all of ten minutes." Itatchi lectured to Naruto, trying to fill the gaps in the boys learning.

"You have all the power, Naruto, but you have to know how and when to use it. And that comes from experience, something that you are seriously lacking. Against a Chuunin or a rookie Jonin, raw power would win the fight. But in the higher ranks, you are measured by the strength of your enemies, and you can only gain enemies if you beat them or something related to them. How did the Sannin become famous? The survived a run-in with Hanzou, the Amekage, and survived. How did the Yondaime become famous? He massacred 200 Iwa-nin in the Third Shinobi War. You need a few epics under your belt before you become recognized as someone to pay attention to."

Naruto scratched his head. "But how could Konoha be recognized as the biggest military power, then? If recognition is given through exploits, then all of the Sandaime's policies about peace are counterproductive!" Itatchi chuckled darkly at this. Naruto asked, indignantly, "What's so funny?" Itatchi spoke, in a mocking tone, "There's a council member that agrees with you, Naruto. His name is Danzou, and from the moment of your birth he argued with the Hokage to turn you into a weapon, to be used to mindlessly kill any who oppose Konoha."

Naruto paled as he realized that. Still amused, Itatchi said "Konoha gets compensates for no new 'legends' in the foreseeable future by having an excess of old ones. The Professor, the Sannin, the Ino-Shika-Cho group, the Copy-nin. Because of that, other countries still give Konoha a wide berth."

Naruto mulled over this, while his body began preparing for sleep without his conscious consent. As he felt his eyelids tugging down, Naruto managed one more question. "If I were a legend, would people stop pissing on everything my senpu (dead father) stood for?" Itatchi watched as his otouto fell deeper into unconsciousness. Just as he was about to fall under, Itatchi said, in a low whisper, "Maybe."

Naruto slept with a grin, having found the solution to his problem.

* * *

**You know, I was going to write about when they enter Konoha, but I figured I'd leave you begging for more, so that you wouldn't desert me. Hope you enjoyed it. Don't try to destroy me if it doesn't. Review, please, and have a good one. Ja ne.**

**P.S. Do the poll on my profile page. Trust me, it's important!**


	3. Important Notice

ATTENTION! THIS FIC WILL BE DELETED AT THE END OF JULY, 2009! I know, I know, that's totally evil, but i have finally realized that i simply cannot juggle multiple fics. My lazy ways mean that i can only maintain the true 'life' of a story if it's only one at a time. However, i am aware that many love this fic, and as such, i am putting it up for adoption. The first person to send a private message with a convincing enough argument will receive my reply, giving them permission to use the idea of this fic however they want, from copying it word for word until adding their own chapters to totally scraping it and remaking it with only one or two base ideas. Regardless, this fic _will_ be deleted after my birthday on July 31st. Whether or not it is continued by another's hand is up to you, my readers. I truly am sorry. Ja ne.


	4. Adopted

This story has been adopted by waterblade. His chapters are pretty short, but i kinda like them. PLus, he's very persistent. Therefore, s/he now has full permission to use the idea for this fic however s/he wants. Hope you all enjoy his/her version.


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